Dark songs
by Black Moons Daughter
Summary: A different turn of events. After Loki's imprisonment, there comes another prisoner who's determined to make Odin suffer. She may be as dark as Loki, but she can teach him the true meaning of rulling. Will he accept and help her? And how is he going to make it out of there alive and unharmed with the Goddess of Hate and Craft beside him?
1. A war's consequences

_The giant golden door opened widly for the All Father to enter the throne room, dressed in his glorious armour with the shining sword around his waist. He felt relief by the time he entered the palace, finally he was back to his home. Baldrians had given a tough fight for two years, but his army won once again. Odin was very proud._

 _His eyes fell to the side of his throne, a small smile appearing on his lips at the sight of his wife, Frigga, and his two boys waiting for him. He had truly missed them all this time. He went first to his wife, taking her in his arms. "I'm back my dear Queen, I'm back." he said to comfort her._

 _"Father!" Odin turned to look at his sixteen year-old sons, their eyes sparkling with joy, Thor's filled with excitement as well. He turned and returned their smiles, placing his hands on each boy's shoulder. "My sons, I finally have the chance to see you again."_

 _"We have been waiting for you with impatience, father." young Loki said, a smile on his face. His brother Thor looked full with excitement and impatience to hear his father's adventures against the Baldr planet and its habitants._

 _"Tell us what happened father! How did you beat up your enemies with your sword and your enormous horse!" he said with pure enthousiasm in his voice._

 _The All Father smilled softly at his sons. "I would love to tell you all the events of this war, but that would be for another time. Now, I want to show you something I've brought for you from Baldr. You'll have the chance to see from first hand the skills of a Baldrian." he said, making the smiles on their faces even wider._

 _From the giant door of the throne room, two guards entered with their armours and a small person between them. When the princes glanced at the figure, they were surprised to see that the 'gift' of All Father to them was a girl. The guards and the young lady stopped in front of the royal familly and the two boys observed her better._

 _She was around fourteen years old, with straight light brown hair reaching the base of her neck, decorated with blonde pieces of hair. Her skin was a peach color, her lips a dark shade of pink and her eyes a light shade of blue like the morning sky. She was dressed in a long red dress, which showed perfectly her thin figure and simple red shoes with no heels. She was at least half a head shorter than the two surprised them though was what she was holding in her arms. It was a small thing, wrapped in a white sheet, which was moving slightly._

 _"Her name is Brenna and she has come here from Baldr to be your company and at your services." Odin's voice was soft as he spoke, like he had a bit of sympathy for the girl._

 _"Father, she is the enemy! In the palace!" Thor yelled, surprise and protest in his voice. The sudden outburst made Brenna flinch from fear and she squeezed the little thing on her chest, taking a step back."S-Stay away from me. Stay away!" she said, the fear clear in her eyes, making Thor to regret his action._

 _"Thor, please. The girl will be staying with us and I expect you to treat her with respect." said the All Father seriously. Thor looked at Brenna with slight embarrassment and regret. Brenna was looking at them, still afraid._

 _Loki stepped forward. "I apologize for my brother's behavior, he didn't mean to scare you miss." he said, putting on all his charm. Brenna slightly relaxed. "Please call me Brenna." she said shyly. Loki nodded and gave a small smile._

 _Frigga went beside her husband and whispered in his ear, so Brenna wouldn't hear them. "I heard about the slaughter on her planet. In this slaughter were kids and babies as well. Why did you show her such sympathy to 'adopt' her?"_

 _Odin looked at her and saw the sadness in her eyes about the fate of Brenna's planet. "She is the sister of the one I was looking for. I wasn't able to find the other one, but I thought that Brenna would do for the case just as well. I couldn't take her without that little one, she insisted to take it with her. She is grateful to me for saving her life and that's all I need for now. As for the little one, we will take it when it's old enough and keep it imprisoned just in case."_

 _Frigga looked sadly at Brenna who was talking with her sons. She had a big sympathy for the probably orphan girl, away from her home and later forced to do Odin's command. But she couldn't change the girl's fate. "Why don't you boys go to show Brenna the palace?" she suggested politely._

 _The boys smilled and went to stand at Brenna's sides, guiding her out of the salle. Then, they heard a small cry and looked at Brenna's arms, discovering with surprise that the small thing in her arms was a baby._

 _"Whoa, that baby it's yours?" asked Thor, looking at it with shock. Brenna's head snapped at him with the same amount of surprise. "What? No! No, it's not mine. He's my brother, Calder." she said, rocking softly the baby in her hug, hushing it immediately._

 _Loki looked at the small boy and grinned. "I haven't seen such a small baby before. May I?" he said, looking at Brenna. She thought for a second before nodding hesitantly. Loki guided a finger on the baby's cheek, causing the young boy to laugh._

 _"So what do you Baldrians are good at? You capture animals and make them your pets? You hunt for hobby? You do ride races?" asked Thor with a curious glance at Brenna. Brenna looked at him with a confused frown. "Where did you heard these things? We sure ride horses, but the others are completely wrong."_

 _Loki rolled his eyes. "My brother has heard and believed all the rumors about your planet. He is just as curious as I am to know more about the Baldr planet." he explained. Brenna's eyebrows shot up for a moment, before looking down at Calder, thinking of her home._

 _"Well we love music and we can sing at any time. We find songs for all the cases and we often express our feelings with music. That's why all the Baldrians have nice voices. We also are good warriors and learn to ride in a young age. We respect the nature and its animals and live as peaceful as possible." she said, a small smile appearing on her face._

 _"You sing at any case? This means you also have war songs?" asked Thor excited. Loki frowned at his brothers command. He seemed like he was only interested in war. However, Brenna smilled at him and nodded in agreement. "Would you like to heard it?"_

 _Both brothers nodded and Brenna started singing with a melodic voice that captured their ears, hiding her sadness at the thought of the war that had separated her from her familly._

* * *

 **I thought it would be better to start with a flashback, because that will make things clearer in future chapters. A simple warning here. Brenna is NOT the pairing for Loki. I put her and her brother in the first chapter, because they have an important role in the next chapters. You will figure out yourselves. Please review! I don't own Loki, Thor and blah blah...**


	2. New prisoner

_10 years later_

Loki was passing back and forth into his cell, his hands clasped behind his back, bored to death. He wasn't in the mood to read one of the books his mother had given him, nor to play with the small glass-like thing. He walked around his cell, just to move his legs a bit. It had been only a week since he was imprisoned and the God had already started wondering if this was how he was going to spend the eternity.

The sound of chains clattering and footsteps approaching caught his attention, stopping in front of his cell-door to see who the new prisoner was. "Come on! Move!" one of the guards yelled, his voice acompanied with a struggle, a bit weak for a prisoner.

The clattering sound of chains became louder as the two guards appeared into the corridor with the cells, their hands holding tightly the arms of the prisoner. Loki's eyes filled with curiosity as he saw the figure of a woman. She was around 25 years old, with slight curly chocolate brown hair covering her back, red blood lips and skin of an almost pale shade of peach. She looked as tall as he himself.

Her delicate body was dressed in a tight dark purple dress reaching on her mid-thighs, hugging perfectly her figure. Her feet were in high heeled black boots, reaching under her knees. On her neck was resting a golden chain with a red stone. Her wrists and ankles were bounded with chains, but she kept walking slowly.

Loki observed her with interest. Her expression was emotionless for a moment, but as they were passing in front of his cell, her face changed into an angry one and started struggling with such effort that the guards stopped walking and took hold of both her arms, having a hard time to make her move.

Her hair were harshly moving around her, as she started kicking the air and barking furious words at the guards. "Let me go! Take your hands off of me you disgusting despicable worms!" she yelled. The guards managed to pull her arms behind her back and turned her, without really noticing, in front of Loki's cell.

"Stop struggling and behave, fiery goddess, or you'll be sharing the same cell with him!" one of the guards said, grabbing her face and forcing her to look at Loki. Her eyes connected with his, examining his emotionless face. Her eyes were an enchanting bright color of honey. Her eyes seemed to fascinate the God of Mischief and Lies, but he didn't show it once more. After a moment's observation, her frown changed into a raised eyebrow.

"I don't see how this is a threat." she said with a low capturing voice, adressing her words to the guard and causing Loki to grin menacingly at her. The guard pulled back her hair and slowly moved his hand on her hip. "You apparently don't know how dangerous he is."

When the woman felt his hand on her hip, she squeezed her eyes into thin lines and whispered a threat to him. "I'll teach you some manners." She shot her head backwards, hitting the one guard on the nose and the other on his jaw. They let her go to hold their aching areas, allowing her to hit the first with both her fists, throwing him on the ground and turning to the one who had dared to touch her. She jumped and kicked him with both her legs in mid-air, throwing him on the ground as well.

She stepped close to his groaning form and hissed down at him." You'll learn to respect every woman you see." And with that, she putted her boot down on his member, gaining a satisfying crack and an ear-bleeding scream from the guard.

Loki watched in slight shock, amusement and impression the woman closing her eyes and lifting her head up towards the ceiling, a wide smile on her face. The echoing scream brought in two more guards, who quickly removed her and put her in the cell across from Loki's.

She started chuckling darkly, looking at the guards lifting up the injured one and taking him out of the room, while he kept screaming in pain. She glanced one more time at the door with a wide smile on her face. "He'll surely have doubts about having children any time soon." she said to herself with satisfaction.

"I agree." she turned her head to look across the corridor to the tall, black haired man. He was grinning at her with a devious grin, his hands behind his back. She smirked at him. "So you're the infamous prince Loki, God of Mischief, correct?"

"I am." he answered raising his chin up with pride. "And who might you be?" he grinned again. She gave a sideways smirk and streched out her arms. "I am Eira, the Goddess of Hate and Craft."

Loki gave a toothy smile, titling his head to the side. She seemed an interesting woman, quite strong and powerful and she had a dark aura around her. Though her title hadn't reach his ears before. "I can't say I have heard of you." he said with a slight frown.

Eira smilled widly and chuckled, dragging a black colored nail across the wall of her cell. "I expected so." she said without looking at him. "My planet had been destroyed a long time ago, so the universe never learned about my presence." she turned to look at him in the eyes and grinned deviously. "But this is all about to change."

Loki watched even more curiously as she turned her back on him and waved her hand in the air, making a comfortable bed to appear from thin air. She sat on it and leaned her back on the wall, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. Something about her was familiar to Loki, but he couldn't put his finger on it. And that was intriguing him.

Another pair of footsteps was heard out of the corridor of the dungeons, caughting Loki's attention. However, he couldn't miss the sight of Eira's form, staying still like she had heard nothing, and the slight grin that spread on her face. Her eyes were still closed.

The figure that stepped in the dungeons surprised Loki, although he didn't show it. He expected him to turn to his cell, but the figure moved instead in front of Eira's cell. Loki frowned and sat near his cell door, never taking his eyes from the cell across from his.

Eira didn't open her eyes, though she could feel the new presence in the room. "Who could ever think of such thing." she said, opening her eyes but not looking at the visitor, the devious grin still on her face. "A visit from a powerful man like yourself to an evil goddess like me." she was now standing in front of her visitor, hands on her hips and a grin that turned into a dangerous smile. "It's been a long time, All Father."

* * *

Okay, so that's for now. There will be a few more chapters before I'll explain the role of Brenna and her brother. Please review!


	3. Dangerous conversations

Odin looked hard at the dark goddess with his one good eye, his grip on the gold scepter tightening a bit more at the sound of her enchanting, yet deadly voice. "What do you think you were doing?" he said, the anger slowly appearing in his voice.

Eira let out a small chuckle, loking away for a moment and hugging her waist with her arms. "For which of all my actions are you talking about? Because they're numerous, aren't they?"

Odin's voice rose more from her teasing. "I'm speaking of the poor man, which you injured and the attack into my palace!" he said, slamming his scepter on the ground. She didn't even flinch.

"Ah, these." she started walking slowly around the cell, not looking at the pissed king. "The gurad deserved a lesson of respect towards the prisoners and most importantly the women. I helped him to learn a bit quicker." She turned to Odin and gave a small teasing smile. "And it was also a bit of fun."

"I like her." Both Odin and Eira turned their eyes to see a smilling Loki sitting on his bed and looking back at them. Odin just scoffed at Loki, unaware of the mischievious smile of Eira towards Loki and her eyes turning away from the young man right after her smile.

"As for the attack to the palace..." Eira continued, now standing in front of Odin and gaining his full attention once again. Her smile dissappeard and her face turned serious, leaning closer to him. "I believe you're more than capable to answer the question yourself."

Odin was speechless for the first time. Eira streched to her full heigh again and took a few steps back. "After what you have done." she said, her aura turning darker than before. Odin searched for something to say, his voice softer than before. "I'm not the same man as I was a few centuries ago."

"This doesn't change anything!" she yelled, showing her anger through her dangerous eyes. Odin seemed taken aback and didn't move as Eira slowly walked towards him, speaking all the way to him.

"Do you believe that because, you might have become wiser now than before, I will forget everything? Can your wisdom erase the actions you have done? Erase your mistakes? Bring back everything you have destoyed and turn the clock backwards?" she was now in front of him, danger showing in her eyes and low voice. When Odin didn't speak, she knew that he was finally understanding how much rage she had for him. She kept talking after a moment's silence.

"No, it can't. You might want to believe that you were a fool back then, but we both know that you knew fully well what you were doing. You were trying to take what you wanted, like you owned it. No matter what the consequences were. No matter how much pain you caused, how much sorrow and death." Eira squeezed her eyes into thin lines and whispered in a deadly voice. "Why you came down here?"

All this time Loki's eyes were drifting from the old king to the dark woman, observing their reactions, moves and expressions. Even though Odin had his back towards his son, Loki could easily guess the old man's expressions. He had to admit that he was truly fascinated by the way this woman spoke and acted, more impressing for him being the fact that she had a bad effect on the All Father. Loki looked at the back of the man, expecting with interest to hear his answer, curious to learn the reason of this sudden visit of him to the goddess.

Odin hold back himself from gulping from anxiety. "I came to tell you that my offer still existes for you."

Eira laughed. "You have the forwardness to come and ask me again this thing after what happened when I denied? I expected better from the All Father." she said, shaking her head disapprovingly. "Well let me answer you question." She leaned forward for a bare moment, looking deeply into the tired eye of the god. "Never."

Odin shook his head and turned to go. "Your answer might be this, but I have ways to change your mind. " He heard her chuckle and turned to look at her, a smile on her face.

"You must be really desperate to count on my answer so much." Odin stared at her for a moment, before answering. "No, I just don't give up so easily." Eira nodded with a small grin. "Yes, you always take what you want. Well, there's always a first time for things. And my case is this first time for you." she said menacingly.

Odin ignored her and left the room with one phrase. "We'll see about that."

Eira watched with a slight grin on her face as he left, before turning her eyes on the cell of the prince. She locked eyes with his serious ones, seeing the interest and the curiousness in him. Her grin widened only a bit before she turned her back on him and sat on her bed, making a small ball appear on her hand and started playing with it.

The All Father was going to pay for his actions, he would feel how much she and the others had suffered from his foolishness and indifference. Though, she had to admit that his son, the one across from her cell, didn't seem like so much loving towards his father... Maybe she could try to learn more about him, in case he could help her.

Loki leaned on his bed, his hand under his head and started playing with the glass-like thing, thinking over the interesting conversation between Odin and the dark goddess. Whatever the All Father wanted Eira for and whatever he had done to her, Eira seemed to hate the man more than anything in the entire universe. And Loki was more than interested to learn why.

* * *

 **Well, hopefuly I will be able to show what happened to Brenna and Calder from the last time we saw them. And please tell me whenever you think it's needed if I'm out of Loki's character, because I'm trying really hard to not change his personality at all from the three movies. An announcement here: Since I'm not getting reviews from people who might actually be reading this thing, from now on I'll be updating quickly when I have a few reviews for every chapter. Otherwise, the updating will be slower.**


	4. Three souls trapped in golden walls

Eira made the little ball disappear after a while. She was bored to death. If she could find something to entertain herself... In her home, she would never be bored. There were so many different things to do and so many people to talk to, that she could hardly ever feel alone. Her memories of when she was young came rushing into her mind, making her both happy and heartbroken. She should express how she felt, and she knew only one way.

Loki was still playing with that glass-thing that could cause explosion. He should find a right time to use it, it could be really helpful at some point. Out of nowhere, a sound like small bells came to his ears, slowly turning into a soft music. He frowned. He had never heard this type of music in the palace before, and it was really strange that it sounded so close to his cell.

He swang his legs off of the bed and slowly stood up, moving to his cell door. He looked across from him, to where he figured out the sound was coming from. Eira was sitting on her bed, purple notes flying around her room, creating the soft music he had heard. He watched curiously as she leaned her head on the wall and looked in her cell with an almost depressed expression. And when she started singing, her voice sounded enchanting and capturing at the same time.

 **Dancing bears, painted wings**

 **Things I almost remember**

 **And a song someone sings, once upon a december**

 **Someone holds me safe and warm**

 **Horses prance through a silver storm**

 **Figures dancing gracefully, across my memory.**

At that point, Eira stood up and started walking inside her cell, waving her hands around her to make the notes move into a magical show.

 **Someone holds me safe and warm**

 **Horses prance through a silver storm**

 **Figures dancing gracefully, across my memory**

 **Far away, long ago**

 **Glowing dim as an ember**

 **Things my heart used to know**

 **Things it yearns to remember...**

When her voice lowered, she blew out a smoke cloud in which appeared a vision of two little girls playing and laughing, while their parents were smilling at them. Eira's face was emotionless.

 **And a song someone sings**

 **Once upon a december.**

And with that she passed her hand through the vision, intending to touch it but instead dissolving it, along with the notes in her room. She looked down at her boots, holding back a sigh. She missed her home so much. The sound of slow clapping caught her attention and she turned to see a slightly grinning Loki, clapping and looking at her.

Eira cocked an eyebrow at him, both curiousness and sarcasm shown in her face. Loki stopped clapping and putted his hands behind his back. "Quite a pleasant show, my dear. Not many people have a voice like yours." he said, trying to charm her.

She smiled an evil smile, that Loki couldn't actually understand whether she was thanking him or messing around with him, and chuckled. "The name Silver Tongue fits you really well, prince Loki, and you seem to prove this fact with every chance given to you." she said, moving back deeper in her cell. "But singing isn't the only thing that I'm good at."

Loki titled his head to the side and gave one of his scary smiles, knowing pretty well that it would do nothing to her. He kind of liked these games of hers. "And what might that be?" he asked moving across his cell door, following her form.

Eira turned to face him, the same smile widening on her face. "Oh you'll soon see by yourself. Because if I have guessed right, the chance for me will come in a matter of minutes." she said, as a faint sound of footsteps was heard from the entrance of the dungeons.

* * *

Brenna was walking in the gardens for about an hour now, paying no attention to its colors and plants. She was thinking of her brother, Calder, and her home. It had been almost two years since Calder had left the palace to go to a specialized island for his training, to become the greatest warrior of Asgard. She hadn't had any letters from him, or from anyone else since Odin sent him there.

Brenna could still remember her conversation with the AllFather, she was twenty years old back then and her brother was only eight, when Odin announced her that her brother had to start his training somewhere else. At first she had tried to change his mind, since she was too shy to protest and very grateful to the king for taking her and Calder to live with him in the palace, but Odin had somehow calmed her down. And from that day, she never heard of Calder again.

She sighed sadly, pushing a piece of straight brown- blonde hair behind her ear. She hadn't changed a lot since the first time she had been in the palace. Her hair were still very short, reaching only her jawline, and her colors were the same as well. The only difference on her was the delicate body of a 22 year-old woman, dressed in a light blue dress and shoes.

"Everything alright, lady Brenna?" Brenna turned quickly around, to face a curious Thor approaching her. She rapidly plastered a small smile on her face and bowed her head. "Hello Thor, yes everything's fine. I was just thinking of my brother."

Thor nodded. "Yes, young Calder. It's really strange that my Father had never told me of that island for training. It must be a new idea of his. Even my mother doesn't know anything about it." he said his thoughts out loud.

Brenna felt her stomach twist at the thought of Thor's words and looked at her feet, hiding her emotions deep inside of her. She felt Thor's strong hand on her shoulder, but didn't look up. "Don't worry lady Brenna, Calder will be alright, I assure you." he said, the comforting smile clear in his voice.

Brenna raised her eyes to look at the sky, taking shaky breaths to calm herself. "I hope you're right Thor. I hope you're right."

* * *

In the dungeons, in the deepest room of the corridor, a ten year-old boy was struggling against its chains that were bounding it on the wall. Its brown short hair were messy and dirty, its thin body was showing the tiredness it felt. Piercing blue eyes looked up at the light of its cell, full of anger.

Calder started struggling even more, though no one was going to hear him. He knew why he was in there. Because he hadn't forgiven the AllFather for taking his familly and home away from him. He wanted to make Odin pay for that, and unfortunately the old king had heard him. Now, why he was imprisoned instead of killed, that Calder didn't know.

"When I'm out of here Odin, I swear to my sisters and home that I'll make you suffer as much as you made me do, nine years ago! I'll find a way to escape and then I'll take Brenna away from you, where she'll be safe!" he screamed, letting the silence to wash over his voice.

* * *

 **Yeah, well I said I would try to show what happened to Brenna and Calder... Anyway, in case anyone has noticed, I left some reviews to myself. You wanna know why? Because as much as I love the guests who review my story, I feel bad that no one else does! Oh, by the way, I want to thank the guest named 'AHHHH' who left a review and I'm telling you that I updated this chapter, only because I had a review from him/her.**

 **If I have no reviews, the updates will come slower. No offence, it's just a matter of inspiration and , by the way, since my OCs are from a Realm where they sing in any possible situation, there's going to be a variety of songs and their lyrics in the following chapters. Like Disney movies...**


	5. Persuasion in the form of torture

Lady Sif made her way down the stairs to the dungeons, her deadly weapon in hand. She wished Allfather had never assigned her to this, but to her discomfort he already had. She might be tough and a brilliant warrior, but even herself wasn't the kind of person who could torture someone just like that. And especially this prisoner. She knew they had been a serious danger for Asgard and the royal familly, but they still were someone close to Sif.

She reached in front of their cell and looked for them. Her eyes drifted faster around the cell, as she found no human figure in it. The only thing she could see was a dark purple smoke, flying around the cell in twists and forming little curls. Sif moved slightly closer to the cell door, trying to observe the smoke.

But when the smoke touched the ground, it dissolved into a form of explosion, revealing the smilling form of Eira. The sudden change of effects surprised Sif, taking a step backwards. Her expression was still emotionless though. Eira crossed her arms in front of her chest, a devilish smile on her face. "Sif, I finally have the chance to see you again. I thought the visits to the prisoners were supposed to be pleasant. Why mine are the exception?" she asked with pure sarcasm.

"You know very well why you are here." answered Sif firmly. "You were a threat for Asgard and now you're paying for your crimes."

Eira gave a small chuckle. "So that's what the Allfather told you. What a shame. And what's more a shame, you believed him. I suppose you forgot everything about our friendship?" she asked mockingly, raising an eyebrow.

Sif's face was still emotionless, though her eyes were glistening with rage and sadness. "You had never been my friend." she answered, her grip tightening on her weapon as the words escaped her lips. She was feeling worse and worse about what she was meant to do down here.

"Ooh." Eira pretended to be hurt. "But we used to be friends. Remember? Three years ago? You used to tell me everything. We simply stopped being friends...when I learnt the connection between you and the Allfather." her voice became from mocking to dark.

Eira looked at Sif boringly, clasping her hands behind her back and taking a few steps to the side, moving across her cell-door. "How is Thor, by the way? I heard he's in a relationship with a mortal woman. A Jane girl, if I'm right." she said almost indifferently, but she knew she had pressed a button of Sif.

The warrior narrowed her eyes at the goddess, her grip shaking with rage on her weapon. "You have no right to speak the name of the god of thunder, let alone personal matters." she responded in a tight tone, barely hiding her anger.

Eira cocked an eyebrow at Sif, accompanied with a smirk. She kept walking around her cell, turning her eyes away from the warrior. "So it's true. And he's still with her, I guess." She turned completely to look at Sif, titling her head to the side, with a smile of fake sympathy. "How upset are you about that?"

Sif couldn't take this for much longer. "Careful how you speak to a warrior of the palace! The fact that you and I had been friends doesn't change the attack to the palace, organised by you! You were the first who left without reason! You know nothing about me." she yelled.

Eira remained calm as ever. Only the big smile stayed on her lips. "Oh but I do. I know everything about you. You are supposed to be a powerful warrior, clever and strong, when in reality you're just a mindless pawn in Allfather's hands. He will say anything he wants you to believe and you'll accept it, like a trapped animal eating everything it's offered only because it needs it. You believe the enemies Odin tells you to fight are the worst beings in the Nine Realms, and you think of Odin as a saint man. But he's far from that. He has so much blood in his hands, so many rough actions of his in his memories, that make him worse than any enemy you have fought against. And you. The only thing that makes you a soft woman is the thought of Thor."

Eira started walking towards Sif, her eyes burning the warrior's soul. "You have been waiting for him to notice you since you were a young girl, dreaming and hoping. And when he finally did, he left you after a while. But you keep waiting. He found another woman for him, a woman that he seems willing to keep forever with him, and you keep waiting. Hoping that he will ever leave everything behind and he'll return to you. This is stupid like a jump over a deep sea, hopeless like a man in the middle of an ocean without the knowledge of swim, foolish like a wish upon a star. Pathetic!"

"You will stay alone, pushing all the other men away from you, in the hopes of him returning for you. You'll live with the hate for a woman who stole him from you, and you'll die in your chambers, still waiting for a prince who never came back."

"ENOUGH!" screamed Sif, hitting the cell-door with her weapon. Eira though, didn't even flinch. She knew she had made quite a damage to her already. "Guards! Guards, come over here!"

To Sif's call, three armed guards entered the dungeons, starting to open Eira's cell-door. One of them was holding handcuffs, attached to long chains. Eira only spared a glance at the chains, turning with a devious grin on her face to Sif. "Care to tell me the real reason of your visit, dear Sif?"

Sif looked hard at her, trying to ignore the sarcasm of the goddess. As the guards tied Eira's hands, ankles and throat with the chains, she answered. "Allfather sent me to persuade you to accept his proposition."

Eira smirked, not bothering herself to struggle against the guards or the chains. "How predictable."

The guards pushed her out of the cell, in the middle of the corridor. She glanced to her right for a bare moment. Her eyes met the sight of the God of Mischief, looking over at her with an unreadable expression. She didn't need anything else to tell that he was both amused and curious. She could also guess the reasons. Amusement of her little chat with Lady Sif and curiousness about what they were going to do to her. She kind of felt the will to speak with him. He seemed interesting, after all.

She found herself on her knees in front of Sif, looking up at her like she was a giant. Although Eira's smirk never left her lips. "Now what? You're going to lecture me till I die from boredom?" she half-whispered, her tongue almost spitting out the sarcasm.

"Will you accept to be royal and faithful to Allfather in exchange of your freedom?" Sif asked in a stone tone, rough and demanding.

Eira chuckled, leaning forward like trying to tell a secret. "Never."

A nod from Sif to one of the guards. He came to Eira's side. And punched her on the face.

She stayed like this for a second, her head to the side. The smirk returned to her lips as she turned to Sif.

"What is your answer now?" the warrior asked again.

Eira simply shook her head. "You don't even know what Odin wants me for, do you?" Sif was silent. She realized Eira was right. "How pityful. No."

Another punch, now on her stomach. She hold back a small moan. She looked up at the guards around her. "If I say 'yes', will you then use your real strength and stop hitting like pillows?" There was the sarcasm again, now with a raised eyebrow. Another punch.

"I suggest you accept the deal. Or else this persuasion will be repeated every day. You won't gain anything from it." Sif said, as if trying to put some logic in her.

Eira gave a short low laugh. Her hands moved to her sides, the chains preventing them from reaching behind her back. "Believe me, this very first persuasion will give me a lot." And when she moved her fingers, two small glistening weapons appeared in her hands. Like little sticks, one in each hand. But only Eira could use them. And she was going to do so.

* * *

 **I want to say a big 'thank you' to a guest named 'potato' and to tell him/her that I really appreciate the review. There's no reason to be nervous about leaving a review, neither the fact that he/she doesn't have an account in fanfiction is a problem. Reviews just encourage the writers. And my stories will be continued only if I see that people like them. So even if you haven't something 'amazing' or 'extraordinary' to say, please leave me a comment. Even a simple 'nice'. And again, thank you for not letting the story end up like this. XXX**

 **Announcement: This week I'm going to a trip on a mountain, without internet unfortunately, so I will be back in Tuesday. Till then, the story will be on hold. But don't let this worry you. I promise to update as soon as I can once I'm back.**


	6. Fight and old friends

Loki was shocked, though being himslef he wouldn't show it. Okay, maybe he wasn't so shocked. But still, this treatment towards the goddess was something unexpected and quite surprising. He knew way too well that Asgard had different kinds of torture, though not a lot because it was known for its peaceful life, but he would have never thought that Odin would send guards to torture a woman like this, and especially a goddess.

What was more surprising wasn't the torture itself, but its purpose. The goddess was suffering right in front of his eyes, and she would keep suffering, until she accepted Odin's plans for her. Whatever they were. So the Allfather wouldn't stop to anything to take what he wanted. This kind of behavior was new, even to Loki. He had never known Odin to be so hard with prisoners.

Suddenly Eira shot her hands forward, two small things like sticks escaping her hands. By the time the objects were thrown to the air, they somehow opened and took shape. They were chinese fans. Crystal fans, with sharp edges like they were made of knives. And between these small knives, there was a tiny space between each pair. For what purpose? Who could tell?

The fans were now flying in the air, swirling around themselves horijontaly, hitting the walls around the corridor but never stopping. Sif and the guards were ducking occasionaly to avoid them, not paying attention to the smirking goddess. She slowly stood to her feet, watching carefully her wepons. She turned to the right, still looking in front of her and when she saw the two fans coming her way, she jumped.

The fans passed straight through the chain holding her neck with her hands, and the chain holding her hands with her ankles. With a scratching sound, the two chains were cut, the fans still flying around like boomerangs. Sif turned at the sound, to see with shock and fear Eira, having only the handcuffs around her ankles and wrists, smirking now right at her.

Sif hadn't time even to yell. The fans came swirling again towards Eira. Now though, she jumped and made a backflip in the air. The first in line fan cut the handcuffs around her wrists and the second the ones around her ankles. Sif and the guards froze in place, watching the goddess landing on her feet and slowly raising to her full height. A moment later, the fans returned to her, and she caught them in the air, taking a fighting position and aiming them at the small group.

"You didn't see that coming, did you?" she smirked over her fan. Sif recovered quickly from the shock, sending the guards after her. Eira put up a good fight. She blocked the first guard's sword attacks by pushing it aside, and she was attacking him with blasts from the edges of her fans. She finally got to slash his stomach, making him fall on the ground.

The second one came rushing towards her, Eira making a quick spin around and releasing small knives from the fans, that hit the guard on his chest. The last one attacked her with his sword several times, with no luck. He aimed a full attack to her stomach. Eira spinned again, placing her open fan in front of the sword. The blade passed through one of the fan's openings, getting trapped. Eira finished him with a kick on the face, while he was trying to release his sword.

She turned slowly to face Sif, only a few feet away from her. Breathing slowly, not a single drop of sweat on her brow, she took the same fighting position as before, smilling devilishly at the warrior. "Dance with me, honey."

Sif launched herself at her, her blade being abruptly blocked by Eira's fan. The battle did actually look like a dance. The blades of Sif were blocked by Eira's fans and pushed away from the goddess, while Sif had at the same time to hold her shield close to her body, to block the sharp knives that made the fans.

Eira seemed to lead the dance. She was making a lot of spins and was taking steps forward, making Sif to back off with each step she was making. Sif tried to stab Eira on the head with a full attack, only for her blade to be blocked again by the now joined fans. Eira pushed the blade away, creating some space between them and taking the chance to throw some small knives at her.

Sif managed to block them with her shield at the last moment. But she hadn't time to see Eira throwing both her fans to her. The fans passed right beside her, and she slowly lifted herself up to her full height, a smirk on her face. "Now you have no weapons to defend yourself."

Eira simply smirked back, her hands to her sides. "Really?"

The fans came flying back, the first hitting Sif on the head and the other hitting her shield, throwing it away from her hands. Sif placed a hand on her head and looked at it. A small amount of blood was on her fingers. She turned her surprised expression to Eira, who was once again holding her fans in her hands.

Eira grinned mockingly. "You can't defeat me. We used to fight each other for practise, while disgussing about your secrets. I know every move of yours, and the way you're thinking." she said in a soft voice, almost whispering.

Sif greeted her teeth and launched another attack at Eira with a battle cry. Eira span around just in time to avoid Sif's blade, holding her fan to the center of the attack, on her right side. The blade passed right through the fan. Sif hadn't time even to realize it.

The goddess immediately closed the fan, trapping the blade inside it and turned her wrist, detaching the weapon from Sif's hands. Before Sif could understand what was happening, Eira kicked her to the legs and she found herself on the ground. And a second later, Eira's fan was a breath away from her neck, the tips of the knives barely touching her skin.

She looked up at Eira. They were both breathing quicker than before. Eira was looking at Sif with disappointment, like she was expecting more from her.

"I told you." she said, her tone unreadable.

Sif narrowed her eyes at her and gulped her saliva. "Finish it."

Eira gave a small grin and shook her head. "Now, this was not my intention. I have other plans for all of you."

The sound of footsteps was heard from the stairs and men's voices. Eira raised her head at the sounds, before closing her fans and hidding them behind her back. When she caught sight of the guards, she made a smooth motion with her fingers, her fans disappearing in the blink of an eye.

She smiled and raised her hands up in surrender. The guards came rushing to her and grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her back. At least seven of them had come down there, and the four were holding her arms, sides, shoulders and waist, like she was a beast ready to slash their flesh.

She didn't even flinch. She had the same smile on her face when she saw Sif standing up and the Warriors Three entering the dungeons.

"What's all this trouble? What happ-" Volstagg stopped immediately when he spotted Eira. As well as the other two warriors, he froze in his place, staring at her in shock.

"Happy to see me Volstagg?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"So it's true. You actually attacked the palace." his voice was almost trembling from sadness and disappointment.

"Still working on believing it I see." She turned to Hogun. "You still have the serious face on, right Hogun?"

Hogun simply stared at her, his fists clenching slightly.

"Eira, what... It's been so long. And we meet again like this." Eira turned to face a still shocked Fandral. She raised both her eyebrows, pretending to be sad.

"Yes, it's quite a wrong way to meet again." She then smirked and leaned forward. "You still wish for a kiss?"

"That's enough." Sif cut in, gaining Eira's gaze. "As you seem to dislike your cell and try to escape, now you'll be sharing a cell with him." she said and motioned to her left.

Eira turned to look and could barely hide her smirk. "If we're lucky, you'll fight each other to death." She ignored Sif's sarcastic comment, as she was shoved into the cell with such force that she rolled on the floor and stopped when she hit her neck on the back wall.

She groaned a bit and opened her eyes to see the group of guards and warriors leaving. "I'm happy for meeting you too." she said to them, chuckling to herself. She rubbed her neck slightly and looked up to her new roommate, who was smirking down at her.

* * *

 **I posted Eira's weapons on my account in Deviantart. In case you're wondering how they might look like, it's something between real chinese fans and Xena's shakram. If you don't know Xena, search 'Xena: The warrior princess' in youtube and you'll understand what I'm talking about. You can find the link to my account in my profile, but I'll give it to you now as well:**


	7. Small talk and pained resemblance

"I suppose this was what you were talking about when you said, 'singing isn't the only thing I'm good at.' " Loki said down at her.

Eira smirked, slowly standing on her feet. "Precisely. And according to your opinion, was I right?" she asked, titling her head to the side.

His smirk turned into a grin. "You were."

She grinned as well. She was starting to like the imprisoned prince of Asgard. She liked the way he was talking his preferances out. Not totally admitting them, but saying them in an indirect way instead.

She took a few steps towards the cell-door, turning away from him. "I'm glad you enjoyed the show, because now you'll have to wait till the next one."

Loki raised an eyebrow. The very existance of the goddess was making him curious, but it seemed that the more he exchanged words with her, the more his curiousness was turning to interest. She was like a riddle to him, close and collected. Yet, she seemed able to become more than a threat to anyone she disliked. She was working and acting in mysterious ways. Why this reminded him a bit of himself?

"The finale though, was disappointing. You gave a good fight back there, only to end up letting them imprison you again, this time having to share the same cell with me. Your efforts served you nothing." he said, his tone showing very little of his sarcasm.

Eira turned to face him with a mischievious smile. "On the contrary, my prince. This was exactly what I hoped to gain." she raised her spread arms, motioning around her. Loki frowned, not really understanding her goals.

"I don't like being isolated. I want to have someone to talk to, even if it's only me messing around with them." The way she was speaking made her supposed soft words of a lonely soul sound like a hidden threat. For Loki, it was almost fascinating.

"I also noticed that you appreciated my ways of staying in a cell. You'd been a pleasant audience of mine, and yet I haven't known you for at least a full day. I decided that I would make it easier for you to watch me carrying on with my shows, and I would have some kind of... company." she finished with a more simple smile than the one she had started speaking with.

Loki gave a sideways grin. This woman was making him more curious at every moment. "Once again you prove to be right about your words. The persuasion gave you what you wished for. Were you ever wrong about something?" he asked, taking a couple of steps towards her.

Eira's face got serious at the question. Her eyes drifted to the floor, memories rushing through her head.

"Everybody are wrong at some points in their life. Needless to say, I'm not the exception." her voice had slightly got lower.

Loki stared at her, holding back himself from frowning. The question seemed to trouble her more than he had expected. He wanted to learn why, wanted to have the knowledge of her darkest secrets, as it was clear to him that his question brought one of them in her mind. He simply decided to change the subject, for now.

"I guess your purpose from the begining was to get inside the palace, even if it meant to become a prisoner. How did you manage that?" he said, motioning with his hand around the dungeons.

His small plan seemed to work, as Eira smirked once again. "Easily. I needed a reason to come down here. And what's better than a little attack to the palace and to the king himself?" she started walking around the cell, always talking.

"I gathered some thieves that had escaped from Odin's punishments and planned the attack myself. As you cleverly said, my purpose was to simply get inside the palace and stay in here. I would be much more than lucky if I had managed to kill Odin in that attack. We fought against each other, eventually. I'm proud to say that I would have won, if the queen hadn't interfere. But I didn't want to hurt her. So I gave up. I had succeed anyway."

Loki's hand turned to a fist at the mention of his mother. He might have felt betrayed by Odin and Thor, but Frigga was and she would always be his mother. The thought of her being hurt or worse made him mad. Although, a phrase that Eira had said stuck to his mind, making him relax almost immediately.

"You... did not want to hurt her?" he said with a frown, which he tried to show like it was confusion.

"Of course! I have nothing against the queen of Asgard, to cause her pain. In fact, I believe she's the most wise and kind queen in the Nine Realms. I deeply respect her." she said, sounding totally sincere.

She went serious again for a moment. "The problem is with Allfather."

Loki remained silent, simply looking at her. The woman was something new to him, her personality unlike any other person he had met. She was filled with hate towards the Allfather, for a reason she kept like the darkest secret in the universe, yet she respected Frigga more than a great queen that she was. She was different in some things of him, yet in others she reminded him of himself.

Eira walked to a chair and sat, making sure to have a full view of him. "And what about you? What did you do, to end up in here?"

Loki raised an eyebrow. Had she just... "Why are you interested to know anything about me?"

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Why wouldn't I? You are one of Asgard's princes, member of the royal familly. You act, as I can guess, way much more differently from anyone inside the palace and you're locked up in a cell. You have powers so strong that their reputation has been spread all over the Nine Realms, every Asgardian seems to hate you and you're the only one whose interest on me hasn't harm my body! So, why wouldn't I be interested to learn everything about you?"

He grinned, showing more of his pleasure that he would have liked. The goddess was picking at his interest even more easily, her speaking was intriguing him with every opportunity. "Very well."

He sat in another chair opposite of her, making himself comfortable, as her honey eyes watched him closely. "There's not much in my actions. I tried to destroy Johtunheim using the Bifrost, so it would break down their planet. But of course, there had to be the oaf of a brother I have, Thor, to stop me. He destroyed the bridge and tossed me into the abyss.

A while later, I managed to reach Midgard, using the Tesseract. With a new purpose and an army from an alliance of mine, I made a war in Midgard to take over the planet, bringing my army on Earth from a portal. Once again, Thor was there to try to stop me, now with the help of some other heroes of Midgard. The army wasn't the best I could have find and the Midgard won.

Odin's decision was to imprison me in here, for the rest of my days. And now I'm spending the enternity in my cell." He finished, not really being angry by remembering those events, he was being neutral.

Eira was listening carefully the whole time. She was nor impressed, nor shocked. But neither disgusted. She as well was neutral.

She thought for a moment, before looking up at him. "And are you regretting any of them?"

Loki stood up, walking around the cell. "Some of them. Though, not all."

Eira shook her head, a small smirk on her lips. "I see. You're causing war and death, destroying innocent lives, just to take what you want. Same as your father." she muttered.

Loki turned abruptly at her direction, his eyes gleaming with anger. "He's not my father!" he screamed.

Eira's head shot up, meeting his gaze. Her eyes were full with poverty. "Isn't he?"

Loki's anger disappeared and he stayed there, staring at her. Eira stood up and walked towards him, slowly. "Isn't he?"

She was now standing in front of him, their bodies a few inches away. She looked deeply into his eyes, whispering.

"I can understand far more than you think I can, and I see in your eyes, that the pain you have caused resembles your own. I see behind the mask you're wearing, and I'm really sorry for you when I say, that I can understand your pain. It's as powerful as my own was. "

Just when she stopped talking, she turned on her heels and moved to the other side of the room, making a bed appear from nowhere. Loki was confused. What she meant, how could she ever understand him, how he was like Odin, everything was a question to him.

"How am I same as Odin?" he asked calmly.

Eira sat on her bed, not facing him. "You'll learn very soon. Tomorrow, with the big show."

He frowned. "The big show involves Allfather, doesn't it?"

She turned with a devilish smile at him. "Oh, yes."

* * *

 **And that's it! You guys probably know that in less than two weeks starts the school, so the updates will be slower, but I promise to update in less than a month! Cross my heart and hope to die!**


	8. Let the show begin

Loki turned for what seemed the millionth time in his bed, the sleep not managing to make him close his eyes. He couldn't sleep. The day's events were just too intriguing for him to let them without some thought.

A noise like gasp caught his attention, eyes turning in the dark to fall upon the moving figure of Eira in her bed. She was turning around herself, breathing quickly and squeezing her eyes shut.

All of a sudden, Eira's upper body jumped up with a terrified gasp, eyes fully open and a drop of sweat rolling down her forehead. She stayed there for a few moments, sitting up on her bed and looking around the dark cell.

Her eyes stopped on the figure of Loki, finally realizing that it was all a nightmare. She raised a hand to cover her eyes, her breathing returning to normal. After all this time, she couldn't find peace in her sleep even in a cell.

She passed a hand through her hair, the other hand grabbing the stone of a necklace she had. The stone started glowing red from inside her palm. Eira blew a deep breath on the stone, releasing her grip from it. The stone turned the breath into thick white smoke, that flied in a circle in front of Eira.

Loki watched, unwilling to give any signs that he was awake, but willing to know what the goddess was doing. He would pretend to be asleep and for the rest of the day if needed to take some answers.

In the middle of the smoke circle appeared a moving picture, a memory from both Eira's dream and past, followed by other flashes of memories. The sound of a warning assembly, two armies colliding with the sound of clattering swords and screams. Then a fire rose from nowhere, swallowing the armies and destroying a town. From inside the flames, a man's figure slaughters a couple, while a burning house collapses on the figure of a small girl. A scream is heard, from the watcher's direction, and then darkness.

Eira closed her eyes, shaking her head at her previous nightmare she had just relived, passing her hand through the smoke to dissolve it. She re-opened her eyes once the smoke was gone, looking at the sheets of her bed. "Same as always." she murmured.

She got up and walked to the cell-door, sitting in front of it with her back against a wall. Since she had woken up like this, she knew she wasn't going to sleep any time soon. So she leaned her head against the same wall, looking outside and playing with a curl of her hair.

"Having a hard time to sleep as well?" she asked, turning to look at Loki's form. He stayed completely still, too surprised to move. How on Asgard had she understood that he was awake?

"No need to pretend being asleep, prince Loki, I know you're awake." He slowly sat up on his bed, staring at her silhouette through the darkness of the room. He caught a slight move of her head, sign that her gaze had returned outside of the cell.

"How did you know, I was not asleep?" he asked, slowly removing his legs from the bed and making his way towards her, stopping a few feet away. She didn't turn to face him.

"The breathing of a creature is different when it's truly asleep, and different when it's awake." She then turned her eyes, looking up at him. "Just like the auras too."

A few moments of complete silence passed, both of them staring at each other. Eira gestured towards the side of the cell-door opposite of her. "Would you have the kindness to offer me your company?"

Loki allowed a small grin to cross his face, before he sat opposite of Eira. They stayed there for a while, looking out of the cell, enjoying the each other's silent company.

"Had a nightmare?" he asked without turning his eyes.

"Not 'a' nightmare. The Nightmare. It's always repeating itself."

Loki turned his eyes on her. "Remorseful actions, might I guess?"

When he got no answer, he knew he was right. Although he heard something else.

"You're very lucky, to have a peaceful sleep." Although she was still not looking at him, her words seemed to make her look deadly tired.

"Maybe I don't feel remorse for my actions." he said, raising his eyebrows at her.

Eira finally turned to him, her face neutral. "Or your actions aren't as horrible as mine."

Loki stared at her curiously. What had she done, that it was so horrible as she said? She was blaming Odin for something he didn't even know, and now she was saying that she had done something not so gentle herself?

"Will you now reveal to me Odin's actions that drove you in here?" Eira turned almost surprised to him, a smirk crossing her face moments after.

"I said you were going to learn with the big show. It starts during the day. The sun hasn't come out yet." she said, motioning to the dark lights of the corridor.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Are you willing to stay here forever, only for your plan to succeed?"

"I'm not. That's why, when I'm done here, I'll leave." she said, grinning innocently at him.

Loki hide his surprise from her. It couldn't be true. There was no way out of the dungeons, no-one had ever managed to escape from down there. Ever. Even if she was indeed telling the truth, he couldn't allow her to escape and him stay in there forever! No, if any prisoner had a way out of there, they were going to have to take Loki as well.

"You'll never pass the guards. They outnumber you."

"I have my ways with unfair battles." she said, standing up and walking away. Loki stood up as well, more determined this time.

"You'll get lost in the palace and you'll be captured again, before you can make it to the gardens."

She span around to face him, a mischievous look on her face. "What's this sudden pessimism, prince Loki? You seem so sure that I won't do it..."

She started walking towards him, stopping when she was inches away from him. "Or you want your freedom as well. If you want me to help you out of here, all you have to do is ask."

Loki kept a stone face as he took a deep breath, looking hard at her. "A king doesn't ask. He commands."

Eira's face got serious, as she took a few steps away from him. "You're not a king here."

"I am a king, wherever I am!" he yelled, getting angry.

"And I am a queen!" she yelled proudly back. There was silence. Loki didn't know what to answer to that.

"So you don't have the right to command me." she said calmly. Another silence, decorated with the curious looks of Loki.

Eira looked down for a moment, deep in thought. Then she started walking towards Loki again, her aura as calm as ever. "Let me tell you something, my prince. I'll take you out of here with me, when it's time to go, in one condition."

She stopped in front of him, waiting for an answer. When she received silence, she spoke again. "You'll stay with me, till you've shown me what your powers can do."

Loki frowned. "Why do you have a request like this?"

She grinned. "There are various rumors about your magic. I want to know how much of it is true."

Loki smiled, chuckling to himself. An intriguing woman, truly. "Deal."

* * *

Brenna walked across the long corridors of the palace, nodding with a smile to every servant she came across. It was early in the morning, and she was more than curious to learn why Allfather wanted to see her.

She finally did it into the throne room, where Odin was sitting in his throne. Brenna made a small bow and stood to her full height. "You requested to see me, my king. How can I help you?"

The old king grinned kindly at her, slowly standing up and walking towards her. "Lady Brenna, you've grown up to be a beautiful young woman. Your loyalty to me is as strong as your heart and you've been very precious to the royal familly."

Brenna hold back a blush and bowed her head. "Thank you my lord."

Odin spoke a bit more serious this time. "It's time for you to become precious to Asgard as well."

Brenna frowned. "How can I do this, my king?"

Allfather placed a palm on her shoulder. "There are numerous princes from other realms that request your hand."

He turned his back on her and walked up to his throne. "And a marriage will be a great deal of peace between realms."

Brenna was shocked. "Oh! A marriage." she said, her eyes falling to the floor with sadness.

"Yes. And in a while, Asgard will have another deal of peace, with the marriage of a prince with the leader of the attack."

Brenna's head shot up. "The attack to the palace, three days ago? Excuse me, my king, but they're leader is a 'she'?"

Odin nodded. "And with her and your wedding, Asgard won't have to worry about wars."

Brenna bowed her head sadly. The last thing she wanted was a marriage with someone she didn't love. But she owned to Odin and she had no choice. "Yes, my king."

* * *

Eira breathed deeply, closing her eyes and allowing the power of her stone necklace to run through her veins. When she re-opened her eyes, their honey color had turned a bloody red. "It's time."

Loki's head turned abruptly to her direction, completely understanding what she was talking about. He got up from his chair and came to stand on her side, keeping a safety distance as well.

The stone necklace glowed a red light, thick smoke coming out of it, like it was on fire. The smoke surrounded Eira and splitted in circles around her. Inside each circle appeared a moving picture, a view of Asgard from every point of view. Eira could watch the whole city.

She breathed deeply, looking hard at the city while moving her fingers and wrists in front of the pictures. Serving her silent commands, every bird in the town flied up on the sky creating a giant gaggle. And just when the people started to stare, the birds flied right on them.

Panic was created. The birds were scratching and pecking every human they came across with, filling the bodies with bruises. With another turn of her wrist, Eira turned the river into thick mud, making it impossible for anyone to drink.

Filled with sentiment, Eira started singing, and notes surrounded her.

 **Once I called you king, once I thought the chance to be your slave**

 **Was all I ever wanted**

 **But right now, I wish that you had never seen me**

 **Seeing as my meeting with you, was the start of a disaster**

 **That was my home, all the pain and devastation, pure torture on their face**

 **All the innocent who suffered from your stubbornness and rage**

 **Now Allfather, now you'll feel how they felt**

 **I'll let no-one go**

 **You who I called king, why did you have to ruin my life?**

 **Is this what you wanted?**

 **Then let my heart be hardened, and don't think how high the cost will grow**

 **This will still be so:**

 **I'll never let anyone go**

 **I will let no-one go**

The birds kept pecking the people, with the danger of blinding them. The first victim was a small boy. Eira snapped her head towards the scene and just when the bird was ready to scartch the boy's eyes, she broke the spell.

The birds took off to the skies, and the mud turned back to water. The images dissolved and Eira's eyes turned honey-colored again.

"That was it?" She slowly turned to Loki. Even though the question was made to be inspired by disappointment, Loki sounded simply curious.

"No. That was only the start." she walked away from him, her back facing him. "I'll continue this, till the fifth day. Then, we're leaving."

Loki stared at her back. He had too many questions. And she had a story to tell him. So he asked the question that wouldn't be answered by her story. "Why did you stop. Before that boy got hurt?"

She turned to look at him. "Because Odin is paying for what he did. But the problem is, that I'm not a killer. I won't do the same things he did. Only to a point."

Loki took a few steps forward. "What did he do?"

Eira looked at the floor, slowly turning away from him. "Have you ever heard of the planet Baldr? It was known as the realm of music and fight... My home. Its people were gifted with melodic voices and the title of 'the greatest warriors'."

"They 'were'?"

"The planet and its people don't exist anymore. Because your father devastated them!" she said, turning abruptly around, her eyes glowing red.

* * *

 **LOOK AT THIS: Something I forgot to mention, I've posted how Eira looks like on deviantart. Go to my profile and check it out, search a bit in my gallery to find her weapons as well!**

 **Hi guys! Just a little update before the school starts. Using the free time, while I still have it! Anyway, I decided that from now on the chapters will be uneven, because it's really difficult to have a limit for the words. I used the song from the 'Prince of Egypt', 'Let my people go'. I changed the lyrics so they'll match the situation. As for the second voices, well they'll stay as they are. It was a lot of work to make lyrics of myself already!**


	9. Memories

_A young sixteen year-old girl hopped off of her white horse, petting its head with a small grin. She had long slight curly brown hair, white skin and red blood lips. Her figure was well-shown by the short purple dress she was wearing._

 _Her eyes were an enchanting honey color._

 _"Stay here, Aria, I'll go for a walk. And don't eat too much grass!" she smilled, before turning to walk deeper into the big forest. She sat on a root, leaning her head on the tree's log. Her eyes searched the sky, examining the shape of the clouds._

 _A colorful light came crushing from the sky, a few feet away from the girl. She immediately jumped up with a gasp, hidding herself behind the tree and taking out two deadly sharp fans._

 _The light dissolved after a few moments, to reveal a man with a beard, armor, gold scepter and a patch on the eye, sitting on the back of a horse with eight legs. The girl looked at the sight from behind the tree, not making any sound. She slowly placed the weapons back to their place. She thought, she knew this man._

 _"So this is the great planet Baldr." the man said, talking to himself. The girl moved quietly, getting closer to the man, never letting him to see her. Until she decided to reveal herself._

 _"It is." she said with a powerful, proud voice, gaining the man's attention. She stood beside a tree on her full height, right then being too grateful that she was much taller for her age._

 _The man grinned softly. "I see my luck is still on my side. Excuse me, my lady, I seem to be a little lost. Would you be so kind to show me the way to the city?"_

 _"Gladly, it depends although, on your purposes. Are you coming as a friend? An enemy? A visitor?" she asked, slowly walking a bit closer to him._

 _"Please, my lady" he said, slightly bowing his head "I'm coming as a friend and alliance." The girl titled her head to the side, examining him suspiciously._

 _"You don't trust me." he admitted, understanding the meaning of her glare._

 _"Why should I?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You come on our planet, dressed in gold armor, being carried by a colorful light and you call yourself a 'friend' to us."_

 _The man smilled. "What's your name, young lady?"_

 _The girl raised her head with proud. "I am Eira, goddess of Hate and Craft, daughter of king Ecmos and queen Iqtia. Protector and princess of Baldr."_

 _The man bowed his head. "It is a very pleasant surprise to me, to see that the princess of Baldr combines all the qualifications of a worthy ruler."_

 _The girl narrowed her eyes at him, questioningly. "Beauty, wisdom, power, pride and heart, all in one person. I've heard that Baldrians are known for their melodic voice and songs. Does their princess owns this ability as well?"_

 _She smirked, she was told to have the most melodic voice of all Baldrians. She sang a few notes to the man, leaving him astonished. "So you do, my lady."_

 _"Be careful, rider, I'm not easy to distract with compliments. May I now hear to who I'm talking to?"_

 _"I am Odin, king of Asgard." he said. Eira grinned._

 _"I knew you were known. My king." she said, bowing her head with respect to him. "Allow me to guide you towards the town." She then whistled for her horse to come, got on its back and they started._

* * *

 _"I hope the tour in the palace was pleasant enough for you, Allfather." king Ecmos said, walking beside Odin, out of the palace to the gates. He was a tall, well-build man, with light brown hair covering his ears, blue eyes and pale skin._

 _"Oh yes, king Ecmos, it was definitely stunning." answered Odin, looking right and left of him, admiring the beauty of the gardens. Baldr wasn't only known for its people and their skills, but it was also famous about its natural rare beauty, the exotic plants and animals, and the houses of crystal white marble. The palace itself was made of blue, red and gold marbles._

 _"This is your daughter, isn't she?" he asked, motioning towards the left side of the gardens, where the stables were built, and where Eira was standing with a bucket of carrots in her hands, feeding her white horse._

 _King Ecmos smilled softly. "Yes, my first daughter, Eira. She's going to take my throne, someday, but her attitude is different than any king or queen Baldr ever had. She'll never sentence someone to death, no matter how cruel their crime might be, she always tries to solve the other's problems and she takes part to every casual event, acting like part of the crowd, not like the queen she's going to be."_

 _Eira placed down the bucket, turning her back to the horse to clean her hands. Aria pushed her back with her nose playfully, making Eira to turn with a smile and hug the horse's head. Odin was watching with far too much interest._

* * *

 _After a quick tour in the gardens of the palace, the two kings were sitting comfortably in the conference room, a big room with a long table, which had the view of the planet on it, like a big map._

 _Eira was sitting quietly in a corner, reading a book. As the two kings spoke, the doors to the room opened for queen Iqtia and princess Brenna to enter. The queen was a bit shorter than her husband, she had although a marvelous figure, pinkish skin, red blood lips, light blue eyes and chocolate brown hair, with a single blonde piece of hair falling in front of her face. In her arms, she was holding baby prince Calder._

 _The two kings stood up. "King Odin, this is my wife, queen Iqtia. My second daughter princess Brenna and young prince Calder." Ecmos said, presenting his familly to Allfather. He in responce bowed his head, along with the two women._

 _"Mother, can I take Calder so you can speak with our guest, please?" asked Brenna, looking up at her mother. Iqtia smilled kindly, nodding her head and handing Calder to his sister._

 _"Thank you, darling." she said, as Brenna took Calder over with her, towards Eira. The adults watched with sympathy the girls talk to each other, Eira eventually making purple sparks to appear from her palm, distracting Brenna so she could return to her book._

 _"Your eldest daughter reminds me of my son, Loki. He's a very close child too, a book is always the best company for him." Odin admitted, as he sat with the royal couple._

 _"She doesn't only read, thank Gods, she fights and goes for riding as well. Though, I would be glad if she could stop acting like a prankster, like she is sometimes." Ecmos sighed, glancing at Eira, who had made the sparks to blow in Brenna's face, causing her to sneeze._

 _"Ecmos, you're very strict with her. She's already trying very hard to act the way you want her to, just to make you proud. You're asking from her to change who she really is." Iqtia said softly, placing her hand over her husband's one._

 _"Try to speak with her and you'll see." she then turned to Odin. "Don't you agree?"_

 _Odin nodded slightly. "I believe it's a wise action."_

 _A baby laugh caused the three of them to turn to look at the children, seeing Eira holding Calder in her arms with a smile, magic notes flying around her, a soft lullaby playing around them._

 _Brenna sat comfortably beside her sister, preparing herself for any kind of second voice she might had to do. Eira started singing._

 ** _Your baby blues, so full of wonder_**

 ** _Your curly cues, your contagious smile_**

 ** _And as I watch you start to grow up_**

 ** _All I can do is hold you tight_**

 ** _Knowing clouds will rage in, Storms will race in_**

 ** _But you will be safe, in my arms_**

 ** _Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around_**

 ** _But you will be safe, in my arms_**

 ** _Story books are full of fairy tales_**

 ** _Of kings and queens and the bluest skies_**

 ** _My heart is torn just in knowing_**

 ** _You'll someday see the truth from lies_**

 ** _When the clouds will rage in, storms will race in_**

 ** _But you will be safe, in my arms_**

 ** _Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around_**

 ** _But you will be safe, in my arms_**

 ** _Castles they might crumble, dreams may not come true_**

 ** _But you are never all alone_**

 ** _Because I will always, always love you_**

 ** _When the clouds will rage in, storms will race in_**

 ** _But you will be safe, in my arms_**

 ** _Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around_**

 ** _But you will be safe in my arms_**

 ** _In my arms_**

 _When the song finished, little Calder was dreaming peacefully in his sister's arms, rubbing her arm with his nose. Needless to say, the song had caused the adults to smile._

 _Eira slowly stood up, walking quietly to her mother. "I'm going to put him in bed." she informed, turning to Brenna and nodding for her to follow, out of the room._

* * *

 _After she had let Calder sleep, Eira was returning to the conference room, Brenna had gone out for a walk. Eira stood in front of the closed doors, reaching to open them, when a voice stopped her._

 _"King Ecmos, from the moment I arrived on your realm...I've been watching carefully your eldest daughter's actions."_

 _It was Odin's voice, right behind the doors. Eira got curious. She moved a bit closer to the doors, holding back herself from pressing her ear against the door._

 _"And I want to inform you that she is unlike any other woman I have known. A diamond of glorious beauty and spirit."_

 _Her father's voice came surprised and slightly proud. "Thank you, Allfather, hearing someone like you telling this means a lot to us."_

 _Eira couldn't hold herself anymore, happiness and excitement filling her, as she pressed her ear against the doors. Odin spoke again._

 _"That's why, I'm asking you to sell her to me." Eira gasped quietly, her previous feelings turning to pure shock. There were a few moments of silence, before her mother's voice was heard._

 _"What?"_

 _"I actually want to take her with me, to Asgard, and present her to numerous kings who want to marry their sons as a deal of peace between realms. Of course I know that you don't want to give her like that, so I think that a deal of peace between your realm and mine will be a good offer?"_

 _Eira had started to tremble by now, rage and anger glowing in her eyes. "Do you expect us to give our daughter to you, just like that?" asked her father._

 _"Think of it, king Ecmos. If you deny, then you'll have nothing to protect you from a sudden war with Asgard."_

 _Eira finally had enough. She roughly pushed the doors open, storming inside the room. "How dare you to threat the king."_

 _Her deadly low voice was sending shivers down the spines of every person in the room. Her parents looked nervous, Odin was simply surprised._

 _"Eira..." her mother tried to sush her, but Eira just wouldn't listen. Not that time. She slowly walked towards Odin._

 _"We welcomed you, we showed you our world, I respected you more than anyone else in this realm... and you dare to ask something like that and threat us with war if the answer is no?"_

 _"Eira, that's enough!" Ecmos tried to stop her, with no result._

 _She stood in front of Odin, looking hard at him. "The answer to your request is definitely 'no'. Now take your horse, and get out!"_

 _He looked her in the eye, slowly standing and going towards the door. "Alright, you made your decision." And he went out._

 _Eira looked at the door for a moment, before turning to look at Ecmos. "Father..."_

 _"Who allowed you to interrupt so rudely?!" he yelled, cutting her off._

 _She stared at him with shock. "Excuse me?"_

 _"A wise soon to be queen keeps her mouth shut, when others take decisions. Now we might be threatened with war!"_

 _Eira glared angrily at him for the first time in her life. "So you're saying that you were going to give me to him?"_

 _Ecmos straightened to his full height. "I never said that."_

 _Eira stepped closer "It was a matter that concerned_ me! _I had every right to-"_

 _"I do know my place Eira!" he burst out "It's time for you to learn yours!"_

 _Eira stared at him hard, trying to hide her sadness, before she ran out of the room, her mother lowering her head sadly._

* * *

 _Three days later_

 _Eira was sitting in the forest, worrying about Odin's threat. A sound from the sky was heard, before the same colorful light appeared a few feet away from her. Eira hide behind a tree, observing what was happenning with a racing heart._

 _The light dissolved to show the figures of Odin on his horse and a really_ really _big army. He turned to his men and spoke up. "Today we're going to conquer the people of Baldr and become the most powerful force in the Nine Realms!"_

 _All the soldiers cheered up. Eira panicked, turning around and running towards the city. He had done it. Odin had prepared to fight the Baldrians. As she passed the gate-keeper of her realm, she yelled to him to trumpet a warning for the army._

 _By the time the gate-keeper trumpetted, Eira had burst into the palace, yelling frightened, tears running down her cheeks. Iqtia ran to her and hugged her, trying to understand what was happenning._

 _"Odin has come for war! Odin has come for war and it's all my fault!" she yelled, hiding her face in Iqtia's arms and crying._

 _Ecmos went to her and turned her head to face him. "Don't you dare to say that again. It's not your fault, I would never give you anyway."_

 _Eira looked at her father, knowing that he and her mother were in much more danger than she was, as it was a fact that they would stand in the front lines in the fight._

 _Pictures of the king and queen fighting bravely, people getting killed, others suffering from various problems the war had brought to them. And then, the smoke dissolved._

* * *

Eira lowered her head, looking at the floor. She had kept her promise and showed Loki what had happenned. More or less. The rest would come... in time.

She turned to Loki, who was seated beside her, so he could see the vision. His face was unreadable, though his eyes showed a bit of compassion and understanding of her hurt and sadness.

"I showed you what Odin did, to deserve what I am doing to him. The pain I'll cause to him and his people is the same with the pain of my people back then. Different situations, but the same feeling."

She sounded like she was talking more to herself, as she stood up slowly and walked to the other side of the cell. Loki looked at her, confusion adding in his eyes. There were still lots of questions he wanted to ask her, but he respected the fact that she needed time.

* * *

 **One good new is that I'm not dead! Another one, is that I made a cover for this story in DA. Check it out if you want!**


	10. Demonstration of powerful magic

Eira was sitting beside the cell-door, leaning her head against the wall supporting her back and staring out of the cell boringly.

On the other side of the cell-door, opposite of her was Loki. He had opened one of the books his mother had sent and he was reading it with absolute dedication. Or that's what he was pretending to be doing. The letters were a blur in his mind, his focus being in something else.

Eira's memory wouldn't leave his head. He kept thinking about it over and over again. He had formed a variety of theories about the mysterious goddess from that event. Her relationships with the members of her family, her birthright to be queen, her close personality and her hate for Odin. Though, he was doubtful about whether those theories were correct or not. The reason was simple. He couldn't believe that there could be a person so similar to him and at the same time, so different from him.

And then, there was her sister, Brenna. Loki remembered the first time he saw the scared, shy face of the girl in the palace. He couldn't say that he had been quite fond of her, nor that he had disliked her either, but he had to admit that during all her years close to the royal family, she had been the only person he could call his 'friend'. She was the only person close to his age that was fine with all his tricks and she preferred his company than Thor's. Now he could understand why. Because his personality was reminding her of Eira. The same trickster and close person like her sister. He reminded her of her home.

Loki glanced at Eira, who had started creating a purple light with her hand, making different shapes of it to try to entertain herself. Should he tell her that Brenna was in the palace? What did he had to lose? But, if she learned that Brenna was in the palace, then she would want to look for her. And then he might lose the chance to get out of the cell... No, better wait the right moment to tell her. When they would be out of there.

"Seems interesting. Is it good?" Loki snapped out of his thoughts, looking up from his book to find Eira looking with interest the outside of the book, apparently reading the title.

"Yes it is, sufficient." he answered. He looked at her for a moment longer, trying to think of something to say."You like books?"

She gave a small grin. "A lot. I would pass hours in a place, with a book in hand." she gave a slight laugh, staring out of the cell again. "My love for books wasn't the most appreciated, of course."

Loki frowned, his interest captured. "Because...?"

Eira turned to him again. "Because a queen mustn't dream. She must be always there for her people. Act for the people, live for the people, breathe for the people. Nothing is more important."

Loki glanced at the floor for a moment, catching the melancholic tone in her voice, before looking back at her. "And you believe that?"

Eira looked down at her hands, not turning to him. "It doesn't really matter what I believe. It never did."

Loki leaned forward, placing his hand beside her without touching her, causing her to look up to his face. "I think it does."

Eira searched his eyes with her own for a few moments, setting a deep silence between them, during which nobody spoke, moved or glanced away. "I believe that a leader should always do the best he can for his people. But he shouldn't put the requests of the people before his own problems. These two should be equal."

Loki slowly returned to his previous place, his face unreadable. "Opinions like yours are the ones that matter the most, Eira. You just have to believe in yourself to express them."

Eira looked at him with slight surprise, causing him to smile with the reaction he had gained from her. She blinked, giving a small grin herself. Loki went to return to his book, but stopped and glanced at her.

"Would you like to read it?" he asked, motioning to his book.

She looked at it for a moment, before shaking her head a bit too quickly. "No, no I can't."

He frowned "Why not?"

She took her eyes away from him, biting her bottom lip with slight embarrassment. "After the war, I came to live in Asgard, I had nowhere else to hide. And during my stay in here, I had no books to read. I haven't read any book for nine years."

Loki's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe that there was a person who hadn't read a book for so long. "It would be an inhumane crime to lose the chance to read, now that you have it."

Eira looked at him, thinking his words over hesitantly. She wanted to read more than anything, but if she had forgotten how to read, she would disgrace herself in front of Loki. The God of mischief and prince of Asgard.

"I will show you." he said, her hesitations slowly dissolving as she took steady steps closer to him. He made room for her and she sat close to him, so she could read over his shoulder. His scent reached her nose, aromatic bath oils and soap. He smelled like a king.

Loki tried to read slowly, for Eira to be able to follow. He could almost feel her breath falling on his cheek and jawline, her scent filling his nostrils. A pleasant, almost hypnotic smell of jasmine and lemon.

"It is quite interesting. Mind turning the page?" Loki looked at her with slight surprise when she, after almost half a minute, had read the two pages.

"You were saying something about 'long time without books'?" he said with a smile.

Eira chuckled, and for a second, Loki thought her cheeks had turned a tiny bit red. "I was being sincere about that, I just hadn't realized that it hadn't affected me much."

Loki turned to his book with a self-contented smile. "You are welcome."

Eira raised an eyebrow at him, smirking right after. The prince wasn't the best man in the world, but she found herself actually like him. He had lots of negative characteristics, but to her it was like she was looking at herself in the mirror. She was looking at someone who could put up with her, without losing his patience or asking her to change who she was.

They stayed like this, reading in silence, for who knows how long. Until they were interrupted from Volstag. "That's something I could never imagine."

Loki and Eira snapped their heads up, realizing that Volstag was standing out of their cell with two guards. Eira smiled mischievously, slowly standing up and walking closer to him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let me guess. You want me to sw3ear obedience to Allfather." she said, laughing from the inside of her throat. "How foolish."

Volstag looked a bit sad, as he ordered the guards to open the cell and wear the chains and handcuffs to Eira. As they forced the goddess on her knees, she raised her eyes up to him, the same previous smile on her face.

"Please Eira. This doesn't have to happen. Allfather will forgive you everything and-"

"You're wasting your time, Volstag." Eira cut him off. "My answer is 'no'. Now do your job and, this time, try to actually hurt me." she said, mockingly.

Volstag sighed sadly and allowed the guards to start the torture. They were punching and kicking her body, more than her face, like she was some kind of training sack. All the time, Eira didn't make a noise, while Volstag had turned his head away from the sight.

Loki found himself staring at the torture, his breath had caught in his throat and he couldn't swallow properly. He didn't know why he was reacting like that. That woman meant nothing to him, so why did he cared that she was treated so cruelly?

Eira was thrown into the cell a while after, landing on her side. She chuckled with difficulty, as she watched Volstag walking out of the dungeons with the two guards right behind him.

Eira slowly stood up, holding her side with one hand. "So they did hurt you ?"

She turned to Loki, realizing that he was standing right beside her. When had he reached to her, she didn't know. And although his question was somehow made to be ironic, his tone made it sound a tiny bit kind, almost caring.

"No, it's just a bruise. It'll be gone in a couple of hours." she said almost choking her words from the slowly fading pain. Then, she grinned. "And thank you."

Loki frowned, questioning her with his eyes. "For the book." she added, moving to sit on her bed.

He smiled, and for a moment Eira thought he was even more beautiful when he was smiling like that. "You're welcome."

Eira breathed with difficulty a few times, slowly removing her hand from her side, as the pain had almost faded. She stood up once again and turned to Loki with a small grin, placing a fist on her titled hip. "So, are you going to show me your tricks?"

Loki frowned again, moving a bit closer to her. "I thought we agreed that I would show you, when we would be in your home."

"We did, but what makes you think I can trust you so easily? Who said that you will keep your part of the deal and won't try to trick me?" she asked with a smirk, raising an eyebrow.

Loki chuckled, a wide smile on his face. She was smarter than he had realized. An equal opponent. Or more correctly, an equal ally, possibly. "As you wish."

Eira watched with a smile, as Loki took a few steps backwards, hands behind his back. Then, out of nowhere, there were flashes of green light around them, in the place of which appeared more than twenty clones of Loki. She looked around at them in surprise, smirking right afterwards. "Impressive."

Loki's clones disappeared, revealing the original prince close to her. He grinned with a cleverness that Eira had never seen before. "And what about you, queen?"

"Well," she smiled "I can do this." Her body transformed into a dark purple smoke, which divided itself in twenty pieces, falling on the floor and turning into a copy of Eira, twenty Eiras in total.

"The similarity of both techniques is obvious." he said with a grin. He watched as the copies of the goddess became smoke again and joined each other to form Eira once again.

Eira smiled, placing her hands on her hips and titling her head to the side. "Now, what's next?"

"Tricks and magic." he smiled, turning his wrist to the side and keeping it there. Eira suddenly felt something cold crawling up on her leg. She looked down and gasped, when her eyes met the sight of a python wrapping itself around her leg and slowly moving upwards.

Loki smiled evilly when the creature locked eyes with the goddess and hissed, showing its long forked tongue. But the smile immediately turned into the half-open mouth of a surprised expression, as he saw Eira smiling down at the creature, taking it in her hands and stroking its head smoothly.

"Very interesting, prince Loki" she smiled. "Though I can do something similar myself."

Right when she had finished her words, Loki felt something on his arm, When he turned, he was met with the piercing eyes of a cobra, which had wrapped its tail around his wrist and arm, hissing at him.

They both grinned at each other, the two reptiles disappearing with a smooth gesture of their hands. "Your skills and knowledge of the magic mysteries are very intriguing, Eira."

She stared at him for a moment, this slight sign of familiarity both surprising and exciting. She hadn't expected Loki to start being more relaxed and friendly with her, but he was actually doing so. She grinned. "Why thank you Loki. You seem a powerful god yourself."

He smiled a toothy smile to her. "How are your skills about disguise matters?"

She chuckled from the back of her throat, bringing her hands in front of her body and up from her legs to her chest, like trying to lift something up. That created the shape of a doll, which came to life when Eira placed her whole body into it. The doll implemented itself on her body, and Loki found himself face to face with Sif.

Loki titled his head, accepting her power. "I'm impressed."

Sif smirked, her features corrupting to reveal Eira's smiling form once again. "I'm quite pleased to hear that. Your turn."

He gave a short laugh, a green light surrounding him for a bare moment, before he transformed into the leader of the guard.

"Spectacular." she smirked, arms crossed over her chest, as she watched the green light flashing again and Loki taking his true form again. "What else can you do?"

"Some healing spells and illusions." he said casually.

"Illusions?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

He smirked, the same green light spreading across the cell and changing everything around them. Eira found herself gasping at the sight of Asgard's royal gardens. Of course, this couldn't be compared with the gardens of her home, but it was still very beautiful. "Shocked ?"

Eira gasped at how close Loki's voice was to her ear, turning abruptly around to find him very close to her. She took a step backwards to try to create a small distance between them, accidentally stepping on a round rock and slipping. She lost her balance and her eyes closed instinctively, preparing her back to accept the impact with the floor.

But instead of that, she felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around her waist and holding her there, legs being pressed against her own, a strong chest glued on her and a warm breath falling repeatedly against her face. She took a few moments to open her eyes, only to have a pair of emerald green eyes staring back at her, emotions unreadable. Loki's face had come really close to hers in his attempt to catch her, now both of them standing in a deep silence.

Eira slowly stood up and got out of his arms, realizing that the illusion had dissolved. She gave a small awkward grin. "Thank you."

Loki waved with his head. Eira moved to her bed, murmuring something about the late hour. That night found both of them laying on their sides, staring thoughtfully at the walls.

* * *

A gasp awoke Loki in the middle of the night. Another gasp was heard with the sound of a blanket being moved by something.

Loki turned in his bed, to see through the darkness Eira's form, turning in her bed and gasping. Her nightmare, probably.

He got out of his bed and went to sit on the edge of her bed, watching her pained expression. Suddenly she shot up, sweat running down her forehead and deep breaths coming out of her mouth.

Loki's face was close to hers as soon as she started to realize where she was. "Shh, it's okay. You had a nightmare, that's all." he whispered.

Eira's eyes focused on him, but before she was able to speak, she felt his fingers taking hold of her chin and she heard him murmuring a spell. She started feeling sleepy.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, her eyelids half closed.

"You need sleep." That was the only thing she heard, before she fell into a peaceful dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **Few, that was a quite long chapter, right? Sorry for the long wait, school is such a pain in the ass! But don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to write more chapters during the christmas holidays!**


	11. Like playing a strategy game

Eira's eyelids flattered, slowly revealing her shining honey eyes. She looked around the room, spotting Loki in a corner, reading his book. She slowly sat up on her bed, stretching her arms above her head and letting out a delicate yawn, making sure to cover her mouth first.

"Good morning." Loki said, raising his eyes from the book. "You had a peaceful sleep last night."

"Yes, I did. After I had the usual nightmare. What did you do to me last night?" she asked, moving to sit opposite of him.

"A simple sleep spell. To make you sleep, without dreams." he said, indifferently.

Eira titled her head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "What is this sudden interest about me, Loki?"

Loki's eyebrows shot up. "It's called solidarity between prisoners. I already have enough enemies. I don't need others."

"Ah, I see." she said, grinning mischievously while bending down to pick a book for her to read. Loki eyed her for a minute, before returning to his book.

He couldn't help but wonder what she had actually understood from his words. Of course he had lied to her about the 'solidarity between prisoners', but the truth was that he himself didn't know why he had showed such interest towards the goddess. He had barely spent three days with her and he was repeatedly finding himself helping her, or even enjoying her company. And, needless to say, this kind of behavior was rare for the young prince.

"What are we going to see today?" he asked, trying to take his mind off of those thoughts.

Eira looked up to him, flashing a genuine smile at him. "That's a very good question, my prince."

She stood up, placing the book on her seat and moving to the centre of the room. She took in a deep breath, the stone necklace shining and her eyes changing to a red color. The smoke came out of the stone and her hands, surrounding her and dividing itself in small windows. In each window appeared a view of the city.

Eira waved her hands in front of the screens, meanwhile the same song as the last time playing around her. In the stables, the eyes of each horse turned red, their minds going crazy. The horses suddenly bolted and kicked the doors, breaking them and finding the chance to run out of the stables. They rushed out, in the roads, kicking anything that stood in their way, destroying everything.

Then, a swarm of bees came flying towards the city, filling the roads and the houses. Everywhere you look, you could see people running like crazy from the horses, their arms and legs full of the signs of bee pinches. The people were screaming in pain and agony.

Even inside the palace, there was agitation. Servants and guards, every person inside the palace was in the same pain as the regular people of Asgard. Only the royal ones were forced to watch this hell in front of their eyes.

The sky was instantly covered with dark clouds. Then, a strong wind blew and the clouds started to spin around themselves, a tornado being created. The tornado fell on Asgard, destroying every house it found in its way. The dungeons shook, bees entering the corridor and attacking the guards. Horses ran inside as well, kicking the doors of the cells, ragingly.

Two kids ran towards the dead-end of an alley, trying to get away from a horse that was chasing after them. When they saw the dead-end, they turned to see with terror the horse to stop and stand on its hind legs, ready to step on them. The kids closed their eyes, waiting for the deadly hit.

Eira flicked her wrist. In an instant, the horse calmed down and stepped backwards, away from the kids. The bees immediately changed course and flied away from the city. The tornado dissolved in the blink of an eye. The only signs that there had been a disaster in Asgard were the pinches on the people's skins and the ruins of the houses.

Eira's eyes turned back to normal, the smoke dissolving around her. She turned to Loki, her face unreadable. "Good enough for you?"

Loki shook his head a bit. "Needs a bit more fantasy, but good."

Eira shot him a small grin. "So, have you any other habits, or your interests are confined only in books?"

Loki raised both eyebrows. "You show far more interest about me than normal."

Eira shrugged with a smile. "I'm searching for things we have in common."

Loki titled his head to the side, sizing her with his eyes. "Apart from reading, my interests pivot on magic and games of the mind."

Now it was Eira's turn to title her head, cocking an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Such as, chess for example."

Eira frowned. "Chess?"

Loki's eyebrows shot up with shock. "You don't know what a 'chess' is?"

Eira shook her head. "I've never played chess. I used to watch my father play a board game with his council men or his guests. It was black and white, with pawns that represented an army with the kings. It seemed a nice game. But no one ever cared to teach me. Father said, it was a game for kings only."

Loki's eyes drifted across her face, thinking over her words. Hearing that someone so powerful and smart like her had no knowledge of a game like that, was something utterly unfair. "Would you like to learn how to play it?"

Eira looked at him, surprise and curiosity on her face. "I beg your pardon?"

"I can teach you how to play since I have no one else to be my teammate." he said, motioning towards a table with two chairs, where a chess table was ready for a game.

Eira's eyes shined brightly, a big smile appearing on her face. "How generous and polite of you, prince Loki. I would love to learn chess under your tuition."

Loki couldn't hold back a small grin that crossed his face, as he went to the table and pulled back a chair, for Eira to sit. "Then, please. Have a seat."

Eira gracefully took the seat she was offered, hardly hiding the excitement on her face. Loki took the seat opposite of her.

"I warn you, this is a very perplexed game for strategy."

She flashed a smile at him. "I learn quickly."

* * *

"My king." Heimdall bowed his head with respect to Allfather.

"Heimdall, I came to see you because Asgard needs your immense eyesight." Odin said, as he entered the Bifrost.

Heimdall nodded in acknowledge. "For the punishment of Asgard."

Odin stared at Heimdall with confusion. "Punishment?"

"Yes, my lord. The banes happening on Asgard are a form of punishment, meant for your highness. They resemble the pain of a long lost people, the memory of whom has survived in their protector's mind, filled with sorrow and hate towards your face."

Odin considered the words of the gatekeeper, realizing what he meant. "How?"

"They have a powerful necklace, created during the time of the disaster, that connected with their will for vengeance." Heimdall answered, a somehow regretful look in his eyes, like he didn't truly want to give this information to Allfather.

Odin's grip tightened on his scepter. "Eira Ecmosdottir."

* * *

"Mate. I win." Eira smiled triumphantly. She had started to like chess more than she had thought, she would.

"Beginner's luck." Loki responded with a smirk. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was proud that his student had learnt so quickly.

"If three wins in line are beginner's luck, then I'm a very lucky woman." she smirked as well, teasingly.

Loki chuckled, replacing the pawns in their positions. "Want another round?"

She smiled brightly. "Absolutely!"

They placed the pawns on their right places and they were ready to start playing, when they heard three pairs of footsteps approaching. Loki recognized a specific pair of heavy footsteps, as he rose from his seat, followed by Eira.

"Thor. After all this time, now you come to visit me." he said, hands behind his back, face indifferent.

Thor looked at Loki with hidden sorrow in his eyes, for his brother's actions. "Why do you insist on denying your family brother? You never had to be like that."

"Maybe I didn't. But you and Odin helped me to. And I truly prefer it like this." Loki responded, venom spitting out of his mocking face.

Thor turned to Eira. "I suppose you're lady Eira. I've heard a lot about you. Not all good things, I'm afraid."

Eira smiled devilishly. "Thor Odinson. I see the two princes of Asgard have so little in common. Fortunately."

Thor decided to not respond to her, seeing that the goddess was as tough case as his brother. "Odin has a new request for you. He demands you to give the stone necklace to him."

Eira placed her hand on the necklace, pretending to be surprised. "Oh. This. You know, Odinson, this necklace is the only thing I have to remind me of my home. My only heritage. It's a very precious object for me, to give it away so simply." she said, smiling mischievously at him.

"Except" she went on "if you return it back to my possession."

Thor's face was neutral. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

Eira putted on a fake sad face, before she smiled again. "Then, I can't give it to you. The only thing I possess, will stay in my hands."

"I understand." Thor said, regret in his eyes as he nodded to the guards.

Eira laughed lowly, as the guards opened the cell-door. "Oh no, prince Thor. You do anything but that."

Loki glared at the guards, as they chained up Eira and forced her out of the cell and on her knees. As one of the guards moved to take the necklace off of her throat, Eira's eyes turned red, glancing at Loki for a bare moment, before a wave of red electricity shot from the stone to the guard's hand, sending him flying on the nearby wall.

"What in the name of..." Thor grabbed his hammer, preparing for the worse, as he motioned to the other guard to try. Eira smirked up at him, as the same electricity hit the other guard.

Thor pointed his hammer at her, anger starting to boil inside him. "You stop the tricks and take it off, or I'll destroy it!"

Eira putted on an innocent face. "I can't. It has a mind of its own. I'm not doing anything."

"So be it." Thor gulped, guilt building up in his chest. He didn't want to do this, but Odin had clearly said 'by any means necessarily'. Thor made his hammer glow from the thunder collecting in it, preparing to shoot.

Loki's fists clenched along with his teeth, when he saw Thor hitting Eira with his thunder. The woman's body shook violently from the impact, her head falling forward, as the thunder and the stone shone in defense. It only took a few moments for the winner to end this.

Eira's head was thrown back with a low gasp, as the stone released a wave of energy in the form of circular shield, that pushed back the thunder and crashed both the guards and Thor against the walls. Eira breathed quickly, looking exhausted.

Thor rose to his feet, staring down at Eira in surprise and disbelief. The thunder should have at least destroyed the necklace, though the stone looked untouched. This power was not to be taken lightly.

"Put her back inside the cell. We're done here, for now." Eira felt being pulled by her arms, as the guards obeyed Thor's orders. Once inside the cell, Eira's legs gave up on her and she collapsed on the floor, using her hands to limit the fall on her knees.

"Eira?!" Loki was next to her, looking down at her with slight worry in his eyes, shocked with himself about his own strange behavior.

Eira breathed deeply, the pain fading away. "I'm fine. They did nothing to me."

A hand was offered to her, and when she raised her eyes, she was surprised to realize that it was Loki's. She hesitantly took it, and she felt being smoothly pulled up. They looked at each other for some time, not realizing that they were still holding hands.

Eira slowly took a step back, pulling her hand out of his own and muttering a 'thanks', before she turned her back on him and walked away.

Loki looked at her for a moment longer, before he glanced down at his hand. What had suddenly gotten into him?

* * *

The door to the deepest dungeon opened, a guard entering. In his hands, he was holding a tray with food.

"Here you go, you spoiled brat. Hope you enjoy your meal." he said mockingly, throwing the tray a few feet away from a weak Calder.

Calder glared at him as he walked towards the door, trying to reach for the food, though the chains holding him would not let him.

Another man walked inside the dungeon, his armor more sublime than the other's. He walked up to the boy, kneeling in front of him and holding the tray out to him, kindness and sympathy on his face.

Calder looked at him, thanking him with his eyes, as he took the tray.

The leader of the guard stood up and walked towards the door, looking back at Calder one more time. He had a bad feeling, that the innocent boy was going to have a very bad end, and very soon.

* * *

 **I'm very sorry I didn't update earlier, I was having a problem with my computer! Hope you like it! Tell me what you think!**


	12. A look in the past

The roots of the plants were grabbing anyone who tried to escape, destroying houses and trying to choke the poor people to death.

A woman was fighting desperately to breathe, finding it impossible. Her eyelids started to fall, as she was slowly slipping out of consciousness. A moment before she passed out, the roots were sucked back in the depths of the ground, leaving only ruins behind.

Eira's eyes turned to their normal color, the smoke windows disappearing from around her. "That was quite innovative."

She turned to a grinning Loki, giving him a small smile. "Thank you. I guess I missed my home's flora."

Loki sat on his bed, sure that a probably long conversation was about to take place. "Your realm was known for the beauty of its nature, right?"

Eira nodded, sitting beside him. "Yes. The roads were filled with tall trees and the grass was growing under the white stones. All around the city, the area was covered with a giant, deep forest, in which you could find waterfalls, rivers and lakes, with animals of all kinds. I used to go horse riding with my sister. I can show you, if you want."

Loki grinned, her excitement was never more obvious on her face, something that made her look like a child waiting for an answer of its mother on whether it was allowed to eat chocolate or not. For him, she looked almost cute. "I'm all ears."

Eira nodded, creating the same smoke as before, with the help of her necklace.

 _A white blur run through the trees of a rich forest, followed by a brown blur, and the sound of gallop._

 _"Come on Aria, run!" yelled a young Eira, looking back to see an even younger Brenna following right behind with her horse._

 _"Let's see how fast she can run with a few obstacles, okay girl?" she petted her horse's neck, hitting the headstall to make it run faster. They made lots of sharp turns and weaves, jumping above fallen trees and small canyons._

 _"Whoa Aria!" Eira pulled the headstall, stopping the horse in front of a long, wide river. Moments later, Brenna had reached her._

 _"So you stopped? Does this mean you surrender?" Brenna's eyes sparkled with excitement._

 _Eira smirked, as she got off of her horse. "No, it just means that I win."_

 _Brenna huffed, getting down as well and letting her horse to eat some grass. "Aww, come on! I never win this!"_

 _The two girls sat by the river's coast, looking around them. "Maybe that's a sign that confirms that my horse is faster than yours."_

 _Brenna sighed, shaking her head. "Someday, I will win. You remember that."_

 _Eira chuckled. "Oooh, I'm shaking in my boots."_

 _Brenna smiled as well, a few moments of silence settling between them, as they enjoyed each other's company with the view of the river. "So... what are you going to do?"_

 _Eira raised an eyebrow. "About what?"_

 _Brenna was hesitant. "About you getting old enough for marriage proposals. I've heard that from the age of 15 and after, father will try to arrange marriages for you, till you turn 20."_

 _Eira looked down for a moment. "I don't know, Brenna. He wants me very stable." She turned to the water. "Just like the river."_

 _As they both looked at their reflections, the water's surface was shaken by two fish that jumped out of the river, scaring Brenna._

 _Eira laughed slightly. "Though, it's not stable at all."_

 _Just then, trumpets were heard, along with the sound of drums. Both girls listened to them carefully, Eira being the first to smile. "They are back!"_

 _The sisters took their horses and quickly rode off, towards the city._

"Quite a majestic place you call home." Loki commented.

"Yes, it is." Eira admitted, looking down for a moment. "From what I understood, the first time we spoke to each other in the same cell, you have some issues with your father. Right?"

Loki wanted to say that Odin was not his father, but he settled in silence.

"You're not the only one, you know. Neither I had a good relationship with my father." Loki looked at her in surprise, and he was ready to ask her what she meant, when he saw the rest of the memory.

 _The girls handed the horses to some servants, running inside the palace towards the front gate. They found their parents there._

 _"Father!" Eira smiled brightly, rushing to his side, but he cut her off with a motion of his hand._

 _"Now now Eira. Let's don't get too sensitive. I'm very glad to be home again, and to see my eldest daughter." he said seriously, extending his hand to her._

 _Eira quickly changed her face to serious one, shaking his hand. "I'm feeling the same as you do, father, for your arrival."_

 _As Ecmos slowly walked away, Brenna ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Father!"_

 _Ecmos's face changed immediately, a smile spreading on his face. He wrapped his arms around her as well. "Hello my Brenna."_

 _Eira's shoulders fell, staring at them with a disappointed look._

 _"Am I ever going to have a proper welcoming gesture?" Eira smiled as she turned to her mother, queen Iqtia, and hugged her tightly._

 _"Welcome back, mother." She smiled up to her. "How did the alliance go?"_

 _Iqtia smiled at her daughter, brushing a curl of hair behind the girl's ear. "Very smoothly. Another alliance to add in your father's list."_

 _Iqtia glanced over at her husband with his younger daughter, before turning back to Eira. "Don't worry, my sweetie. He loves you as much as her. He just tries to be a good father, for the future queen."_

 _Eira grinned sadly, looking at her father. "I don't think, it's just this..."_

"You see, my sister was his favorite daughter. The good thing is, I had my mother." Eira played with her fingers.

Loki looked at her, understanding her sadness. "I guess you didn't like your sister for that."

Eira looked at him with curiosity. "Not at all. I had a very good relationship with her."

Loki frowned. "How's that?"

"Because it wasn't her fault that father loved her more. She hadn't done any spell, to gain father's love. It was my father's fault." She said, as the memory changed again.

 _"Are you ready to do this?" Eira asked, preparing her fans_

 _"Just a moment." Brenna took hold of her two daggers, their edges looking down to the floor. "Ready."_

 _"Start!" Eira ran towards Brenna, their weapons clashing with each other, while blocking the other's attacks, Eira with the back of her fans and Brenna with her blades. While Eira would hit with the upper part of her weapons, Brenna would always hit with her blades looking to the side, turning her hands at the part of her elbows to guide the blades._

 _Brenna tried a full attack on Eira, resulting in her blade being trapped in one of the fan's openings. Brenna tried to hit with her other blade, but it got trapped in the same fan as well, when Eira moved it. Eira got the chance to close her fan and push Brenna so her back was on a tree, bringing her other fan close to Brenna's throat. She smirked._

 _"You can't win what you can't predict." she said, releasing Brenna's weapons and backing away to make some space for her._

 _Brenna smiled, placing her blades in a secret pocket of her dress. "I have to admit, I'm never going to become better than you in battle."_

 _"That's true." Eira looked around them, noticing that they were all alone in the training room. "I believe, I will go pick a book to read. What are you going to do?"_

 _Brenna thought for a moment. "I think I'm going for a walk in the forest."_

 _Eira nodded. "Alright, I'll see you later then." And with that, she walked out. Entering her room, she picked a book from her shelves and walked out right after. She was going to her favorite secret place, where she used to go when she wanted to be all alone._

 _As she was walking in the forest, she heard murmurs through the leaves. She frowned, walking closer and peeked in the plants. She grinned sideways, cocking an eyebrow when she saw Brenna talking with a boy of her age._

 _"You understand that he never tried something like that ever again." the boy finished, making Brenna laugh._

 _"Asmund, this is the most funny story I've ever heard!" she smiled, her face slowly turning curious when she saw that he was staring at her with a smile. "What?"_

 _"You're very beautiful when you laugh." Brenna blushed madly, looking down on the ground._

 _"Really?" Asmund placed his hand on her cheek, making her to look at him._

 _"Of course." was the only thing he said before he placed a loving kiss on her lips. She returned it the same soft way as he did, their lips moving slowly to enjoy as long as they could the moment._

 _"Asmund!" A voice from far away made them stop._

 _"I must go." Asmund started to walk away, but not before he kissed the back of Brenna's hand. She found herself touching her lips with a wide smile after he was gone._

 _"Whoa." Brenna gasped, turning to see Eira leaning on a tree, arms crossed. " That was something I could never expect from you."_

 _Brenna started panicking. "Eira, please don't tell father! He will be-"_

 _"Furious? Out of his mind, when he learns about your relationship? That'll be a spectacular play." She smiled. "Tell me when it happens, so I won't miss it."_

 _Brenna looked at her, her shock turning into a smile, as Eira winked at her. She wasn't going to tattle her. She sat down, her book in front of her feet. "So, how did that happen?"_

 _Brenna sat beside her. "Oh Eira, you must meet him! He's so funny and kind and sweet and gentle and-"_

 _"Whoa, whoa! Why don't we talk about this before your celebration ball for completing your training in battle?" Eira grinned, raising an eyebrow._

 _Brenna nodded with excitement. "Okay!"_

* * *

 _Eira and Brenna stood in the middle of the long, marble corridor, the one beside the other, waiting for the right time to go into the throne room._

 _Eira smiled at her sister. "Nervous sister?"_

 _Brenna exhaled, smiling as well. "No, probably excited."_

 _Eira raised her eyebrows. "Oh, so when you were trying to pass the exams, you were excited because you knew, you would pass. I see."_

 _Brenna giggled. "Okay, okay I admit it. I'm nervous."_

 _A servant came towards them, offering a drink to calm their nerves. Eira looked at him, moving her fingers. Spiders came out of the glasses, causing the man to yelp and drop the tray. Brenna jumped with surprise as well, causing Eira to laugh lowly._

 _"Eira! You scared me and the poor man!" Brenna said, trying to hide her grin._

 _"I thought we could have a bit of fun. No hard feelings, my friend?" she grinned, making the spiders disappear._

 _The servant relaxed at Eira's face, picking up the glasses and leaving the two princesses._

 _Brenna looked down. " Eira, do you...think I deserve all this?"_

 _Eira turned fully to look at her. "Of course. I longed for this day the same way you did. My sister. Sometimes, I'm jealous, I admit it. But don't you ever doubt that I love you"_

 _Brenna smiled, placing a hand on Eira's shoulder. "Thank you sister."_

 _Eira grinned "Now kiss me."_

 _Brenna laughed. "Stop that! I'm saving my kisses."_

 _Eira turned to her. "Should I be offended?"_

 _"Eira!" Both girls laughed. After a few moments, they were into the throne room. There, king Ecmos announced the start of the celebration and the arrival of a prince, potential husband of Brenna._

 _At that, both girls looked at him with shock. The dinner started, along with the dance and the two girls couldn't escape. The prince was moving from the one sister to the other, trying to laid hands on them._

 _Eira finally had enough. She created a snake around his wrist, making him yelp and run out of the room. The girls laughed, but when Eira saw her father's disapproving look out of the corner of her eye, her smile fell. At last, the girls took Ecmos in another room, to talk to him._

 _"Father, please rethink this. Why should we do this?" asked Brenna._

 _"Because this is a traditional way for the union of two realms."_

 _"But you don't ask what I want! I want to marry for love, not for an arrangement!"_

 _"You are my daughter, and you have to do what's best for the realm!"_

 _"You're ruining my future!" Brenna ran out of the room, tears running down her cheeks._

 _Eira stepped forward, wanting to say something before she went to Brenna. "Father, you know she's right. She deserves better than this."_

 _"Eira, you should be in the position to understand."_

 _"You're saying that I'm incapable to understand what my sister's worthy?!"_

 _"I'm saying that you're incapable of being a wise queen, if you keep up like this!" he yelled, his patience wearing off._

 _Eira froze. The words insulted her too painfully. "It's not my father this. This is the king." she said, going to find Brenna. And she found her, in the gardens. She sat beside her, seeing that the tears had dried on her cheeks._

 _"This was supposed to be a day of glory for me." murmured Brenna._

 _"It will come. In time..." Eira looked at Brenna's sad face. "If it means anything to you, I believe you're right. About the marriage, the future, everything."_

 _"I know, but he just won't listen!"_

 _"Maybe, you should try to convince him to accept an extended engagement. Tell him that you need time to learn your fiancée, and after some time, you can reject him for your reasons."_

 _Brenna thought about it. "How do you know. he will listen to me?"_

 _Eira gave a melancholic grin. "He will listen to his favorite daughter."_

 _Brenna turned to her in surprise. "Oh Eira... Father loves you, for real!"_

 _She chuckled. "Don't play coy with me. You were never good at lying. It's not your fault, nor I blame you for anything. I understand that he has a favorite child."_

 _"He's trying to make you a good queen, that's all."_

 _Eira looked at the ground. "Yes. I only wish he didn't show it so much. Wish he wasn't so distant with me."_

The smoke dissolved, the stone stopped shining. "So, now you know almost everything about me."

Loki looked down at the floor, thinking over Eira's memories. "Did she do it?"

Eira grinned sadly. "Yes, she did. And he accepted. That way she managed to keep the nominees away, for two months. Till Asgard attacked."

Loki turned his eyes away from her, acknowledging her hate and pain. He turned to her once again after a while, when he heard her sigh.

Her face turned serious. "Well, I suggest you to be prepared Loki."

He frowned. "Why?"

She walked towards her bed. "Because tomorrow night, we're leaving."

* * *

 **Alright, this last sentence leaves a very tensed atmosphere hanging around the room! Please review for sooner updates, as my other story about Loki is on HIATUS since it had no reviews in the last chapter.**


	13. Emotion

"Hope you enjoyed my show today." Eira moved her queen to the left, leaning in the comfort of her chair.

"I did. The rain of ablaze rocks and blades of ice was an extraordinary performance." Loki gave a small grin, moving his horse forward.

"I have to admit... your book with the spirits of the elements inspired me." she smirked, moving her queen where she needed her to be. "Check mate."

Loki chuckled, raising his eyes to her face. "Has the student overcome her teacher, already?"

Eira smiled. "Maybe you're out of practice."

He chuckled again, enjoying himself each time she was trying to tease him like that. "Is it my idea, or you always use the pawn of the queen to win me?"

She smiled mischievously, leaning forward close to his face and whispering. "Maybe that's a sign that the queen can have power over the king."

A wide smirk spread across Loki's face, as he stared into Eira's honey colored eyes. They stayed like this, looking into each other's eyes. And just for a bare moment, there was nothing else around them, but two pairs of green and honey eyes.

"Ecmosdottir!" Eira sighed, turning towards the cell-door, to see great Odin with his spear and three guards, standing in front of her.

"Allfather, what a surprising visit." she smiled mockingly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Odin's eyes were sparkling with anger, his grip on the spear tightening with every passing second. "I will not put up with my kingdom's suffering anymore! Give me the stone of Baldr and swear eternal obeisance to me, or face the consequences!"

Eira smirked. "If you think I'll make this easy for you, then you're the fool I take you for."

Odin stared at her. "We'll see about that."

Two of the guards left their place, walking deeper into the dungeons. Eira narrowed her eyes at Odin, while behind her back, Loki was eyeing both Odin and the direction, the guards had taken. Odin had something in his mind, and by the looks of it, the confidence he was showing, it was anything but good for the fiery goddess.

"Besides, you have nothing against me. Everything I ever had, you destroyed it long ago." she said, hate pouring out of her mouth.

"Not everything, Eira." Odin said, just when the two guards returned, holding another prisoner firmly, in an attempt to hold them from slipping out of their grip.

The face of a young boy appeared from the other side of the cell-door, weak and tired, still brave and stubborn.

Eira's face changed immediately, letting out a shocked gasp. She rushed close to the door, her palms crashing against the wall on the side. Her yell came out like a whisper. "Calder."

Calder raised his eyes at the call of his name and looked inside the cell. He saw a black-haired man, looking with surprise and curiosity Calder and a woman. Calder stared at her curiously. She seemed full of joy, sadness and worry, all at the same time, and she just wouldn't stop looking at him. Even though he didn't know her, he could swear that she looked very familiar.

Calder titled his head to the side, frowning. "Who are you?"

Eira smiled sadly, her voice soft like velvet. "You don't remember me, brother? I'm your sister, Eira."

The young boy's eyes filled with anger and sadness, shaking his head firmly. "No, my elder sister is dead."

She shook her head as well, with the same smile. "I'm not dead, I'm here. Do you remember? I used to sing to you, your favorite lullaby. _Clouds will rage in...Storms will race in...But you will be safe, in my arms. Rains will pour down...Waves will crash around...but you will be safe, in my arms..._ "

Calder stared at her with shock. "This voice, I know this voice. And...the song." he searched in her eyes, realization hitting him. His sister, Becky, would always sing to him this song, telling him about their older sister, whose voice would caress his dreams like soft velvet. "Eira! Sister, you're alive!" After all this time!"

She smiled with the same sad way, before turning with a death glare at Odin. "What do you want, to let him go?"

"The same I asked before. Give me the powerful stone and come to my side, as my ally." Eira greeted her teeth, she was so sure he would ask this.

Calder looked at Odin with shock, then at Eira. "No sister, don't do this! You mustn't give up to his commands!"

She shook her head at him. "It's the only way to set you free."

Calder struggled against the guard's grip. "There's always another way!"

She looked warily at Odin, speaking to Calder at the same time. "I know, but tell me, do I have another choice?"

"Then I'll give you one." Calder turned and stuck his teeth on one of the guard's hand, making them scream and let him go. He quickly span around, kicking the other guard on the knee, causing him to kneel, so he could serve him a punch on the face. As the second guard fell, Calder ran to the third one, passing right between their legs and pulling at them, making them fall on the ground, face first.

Odin raised his spear, pointing it at the boy. Before he was able to shoot, Calder caught the spear as well, pushing its point to the side. The spear fired on its own, its magic light hitting the wall, both Odin and Calder being pushed backwards from the power of the shot.

"Calder!" Eira was worried. This was the first time Loki had seen Eira worried for someone. The first time she showed that she could feel fear for someone. He could understand her. Even though the boy was brave and stupid enough to fight alone against Allfather to save his sister, Odin was not the man who would be easily defeated by anyone. The boy was in serious danger.

"Don't worry sister! I'll get you out of there!" Calder yelled, running towards the right wall of the cell, where the button for the cell-door was hanging on.

Eira watched Calder reaching for the button, spotting out of the corner of her eye Odin rushing towards him from behind. She gasped, her panicked eyes drifting to her brother. "Calder, watch out!"

A metallic sound followed right after, along with the sound of flesh being torn apart. Calder's eyes were wide as saucers, his mouth hanging open in a silent scream. He slowly looked at his stomach, were the edge of Odin's spear was coming out of him.

"NOOO!" Eira screamed, throwing herself against the wall close to her brother, as she watched with desperation Calder, closing his eyes and falling on the ground. She slid down the wall where he was a few feet away, breathing deeply with eyes wide open from the shock.

Odin slowly took some steps backwards, looking at the boy's body, while the guards slowly came back to their senses. He himself seemed like he was starting to realize what he had done right then. "I'm sorry. I had no other choice."

Eira didn't hear his whispered apology. The world around her seemed to fade away, the only thing she could see was the dead body of her brother.

Loki felt like going over to her side, only to try to comfort her. But his pride was holding him back. He didn't want to show any kind of kindness or sentiment in front of Odin. He couldn't allow his eyes to catch any bit of weakness on him.

Odin looked down at the child, the regret being hidden from his determinate, hard eyes. He hadn't intended to kill the boy, though no one said that he wouldn't do it if Eira wouldn't cooperate. But, again he hadn't wished for this to end like that. "Take the boy inside the cell. You return in ten minutes to take it."

The guards lifted the small body in their hands, opening the cell and gently placing it on the floor. Eira's piercing eyes watching every move they made like a hawk.

Once they all walked out of the dungeons, Eira rushed to Calder's lifeless body, holding his upper body in her hands, kneeling in front of it. She pressed Calder against her chest, her fingers running smoothly through his hair, her thumb caressing his cheek.

"Calder. My sweet brother..."she whispered, her forehead on his as two tears ran down her cheeks and on the boy's face. Her whole body was trembling, her shoulders shook as more tears escaped her open eyes, along with a couple of sobs.

" _When the clouds will rage and, storms will race in, but you will be safe in my arms, in my-...arms."_ her voice cracked from the pain she was feeling in her heart, she was feeling empty. She squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her teeth. She threw back her head, a long painful scream escaping her lips, echoing through the walls of the dungeons.

Loki watched with a slight bit of sadness on his face. The sight of her being in such pain and sadness caused an awful sentiment, an unbearable pain to spread on his chest, and especially in the middle of it. He gulped, slowly making his way towards her when she stopped screaming, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.

Just then, the guards returned to take the body. The leader of the guard signed for them to take the body, Eira hesitantly let it slip out of her hands, watching as the men took him away. When the door to the cell closed, the leader looked at her with sorrow.

"I'll ensure that he'll stay untouched and with no burial till you get out of here to take him." he said to her. Eira looked at him, her face unreadable. "You have my word."

She nodded in a 'thank you' manner, allowing the man to leave. Once alone, Loki kneeled beside her on the floor, placing a hand on her back and on her arm, as a river of tears had started to form silently from her eyes. "Shhh, it's okay. He won't suffer anymore."

"No, it's not okay." she said with breaking voice, turning to look into his eyes. "When you'll learn about what happened during the war, you'll see that Calder was the only one thing I ever did right. The only thing. And now it's gone. He's gone. I have nothing anymore."

She slowly rose to her feet, walking to her bed and sitting down, facing the wall as tears started to appear again. Loki watched her back and shoulders shaking, sure that the tears were running down her soft cheeks. But still, she was trying to keep her honor and pride crystal clear, her back facing him so he wouldn't see her crying. For a moment, deep silence was spread all over the dungeons, allowing Loki's ears to catch a very small sound. Eira's sobs.

For the first time after the truth about his biological parentage, Loki's face turned into a pained expression, the same pain from before returning in the centre of his chest. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

That night, in the dead silence of the jail, Loki could clearly hear Eira's sobbing. Until now, he had thought that she had cried her eyes out already, but he was wrong. No twists in the bed, no gasps, no groans, nothing. Only pained crying.

He swallowed hard, taking a decision that would probably make her hate him, if she found out. He silently turned in his bed, his face looking straight at her. And he was met with a sight that froze him.

Eira's figure laying on the bed, on her side, half covered by the sheet, having an iron grip on her pillow, tears running down her already wet cheeks, eyes firmly shut and greeted teeth.

Loki felt the urge to go over to her and...try...to comfort her. But there was a possibility that she would feel worse if she discovered that he had seen her crying. What Loki was about to discover though, was that Eira's way to show how much she suffered from someone's death, especially when she had nothing and no one to relay on afterwards, was worse than the first stage, the tears.

* * *

 **Phew, alright that's for now. I was having a depression while writting this, but I know it had to be done. If I'm lucky, the next chapter will contain a link to the story's trailer on youtube!**


	14. I am going to keep that promise

The very next day, Eira was sitting at the side of her bed, staring at the opposite wall, completely emotionless. She was in no mood to do anything, to think, to speak, nothing.

If it was any other's death, and she was left with people that cared for her as well as she cared for them, she would have simply mourned for some days more, before she let it fade away.

But this case was different. She hadn't only lost her brother, but she had, as well, lost the last person that, the hope of him being alive, was giving her strength to keep going. She felt empty, all the signs of life having left her inside world.

Loki watched her closely. Her eyes were slowly turning back to their natural color, as the redness of the crying was fading away. Her look, was blank, with no emotion or signs of thought. Like her body was the only thing left of her.

He couldn't stand all this silence. Those few days that they had been sharing the same cell, he had got used to her, he even had grown to like the company of another person, thanks to her. And the feeling of her being there, when in reality she wasn't, was torturing him.

He moved to sit beside her, his full attention on her face, observing her. She didn't even glance at him. "You look better today. Your appearance covers any signs of crying."

It was a lie. One of the most idiotic ones, Loki had ever said. But he needed to say something, and she didn't react. He looked away for a moment, exhaling silently.

"If it means anything to you, there was nothing you could do to save him. He died while trying to save you. He died with honor. Nothing of this was your fault."He tried to sound serious and neutral, though he really wished that she would, at least, blink at his words.

Eira closed her eyes softly, like she was trying to block him from saying anything else. A silent tear ran down her cheeks from each closed eye. Loki softly turned her chin, to make her face him. She opened her eyes, when he did so.

"Stop that. Stop it." he whispered, whipping away her tears with his fingers. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't show softness or comfort to her, he barely knew her. So he didn't know what he could possibly say to calm her.

Eira stared in his eyes, as he was whipping away her tears. He was being so kind to her, like no one else in those nine years she had been living in Asgard. But he couldn't care for her. Not him. It was impossible. She was alone now, and nothing would change that.

* * *

Two days passed like this. Without tortures, smiles or a word from Eira. She was like a living dead, like she was in a coma, from which she could never wake up, or slip away from.

Loki had been stealing glances at her, having no idea what to do, but only feel bad for her. Those two days, she had barely eaten anything, and the only things she was doing was sleep, wake up and stare in the space.

The third day, Sif came in with two guards. Loki eyed her carefully, while Eira hadn't even showed that she had acknowledged her presence. This wasn't going to end up good.

"Ready for the restart of your previous routine, Eira? Unless, you want to give up the necklace and surrender." she said, a small smirk playing on her lips. Eira's eyes weren't even looking at her.

Sif's smirk fell immediately, replaced by anger. "So be it!" The guards got into the cell and grabbed Eira by the arms. As they chained her, Loki's grip on the book he was holding tightened.

The guards forced her on her knees, and she slowly raised her head to see Sif's stone-cold face. The warrior bent down to her eye-level, the blade of her weapon reaching under Eira's chin and between her neck and the necklace. Just when she was about to cut the necklace's chain, the stone released a red energy field, sending Sif and the guards flying on the walls.

Sif rose quickly to her feet and greeted her teeth. She glared at Eira, who was staring in the space. "Weaken her completely! Then we'll try again."

The guards started to hit her violently, fists and kicks landing on her tired, from crying, body. She barely hold herself on her knees, her reaction from the hits being only the squeezing of her eyes shut.

Loki was staring at the scene in front of him, knuckles white from the clenching of his fists, greeted teeth, eyes shooting fire and almost impossible to breathe. He felt like something was preventing him from swallowing, his stomach tying and untying itself with each blow. When she collapsed on the floor, the guards still beating her up, he couldn't stand it anymore.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled so loudly that he thought the whole realm had heard him. Everybody's heads shot up, staring at him in utter shock. Especially Eira was staring at him from the floor, shocked and somehow hopeful.

Her eyes drifted across his face, once he laid eyes on her. Could it be possible that he, somehow for an unknown reason, cared for her? Friendly or...No, it couldn't be. But, why had he stood up for her, if he didn't care at all? So, did that mean that he actually wanted her to be alright? Was there another person that she could trust then? If it was true, then she wasn't left alone. Friend or not, Loki had just tried to help her, which meant that she still had someone. She still had something...to make her keep going.

Sif looked between Loki and Eira, confused. When her eyes fell on the necklace, she saw with surprise that it was shining menacingly. She scoffed. It seemed that even exhausted, Eira could still use the necklace. "Put her in. We won't spend another minute with her, for now."

Eira was, oh what a surprise, thrown in the cell again, laying on the floor as the guards followed Sif outside. Eira didn't dare to move, her mind screaming to her for the previous event. She heard slow footsteps coming her way, turning her head to the side to see Loki's unreadable face staring down at her, as he smoothly kneeled beside her, placing an arm on hers and another around her waist, helping her up.

As he slowly removed his hands from her, she glued her eyes on him, demanding answers. "Why you helped me?"

Loki was a bit taken aback, not only from the question, but from the fact that she was talking to him after two days of silence, as well. Her voice was soft and tired, almost like a whisper. But her eyes were shining with a twinge of life once again. He regained his composure soon enough, though. "It's simply too callous and ignoble, even for me, to watch the torture of a woman who is mourning over her brother's death so loyally."

Eira cocked an eyebrow. Why did that guy have to be such a riddle? What was that supposed to mean? Whatever he wanted to say, he still had helped her. She gave a small grin. "Thank you, Loki."

He blinked once, searching in his mind his next move. It wasn't very common for him to be thanked by others. His face twisted a bit to a half formed grin, nodding his head at her. His grin dropped when he saw her face darkening. "What is it?"

"I just remembered . I have a promise to keep." she said, walking to her bed.

He frowned. "What?"

She turned to him, smiling. "I promised that I would get you out of here. And that's exactly what I'll do."

* * *

The guard crossed the long corridor of the dungeons, checking at every cell he was passing by. As he glanced in the last cell in the entrance of the dungeons, he saw something terribly wrong. There was only one prisoner.

"Where is she?!" he yelled, pointing his lance at Loki. The prince simply smiled, shrugging. The guard glared at him, cautiously opening the cell and entering it, to search for the goddess.

Loki's eyes followed the guard around the cell, seeing out of the corner of his eye Eira's smoke form, moving from the ceiling she had been hiding, out of the cell and behind a column.

Eira reformed back, once out of the cell. She created a doll, entering her body in it and taking Thor's form. As the guard came out of the cell, to go to sound the alarm, she came out of the shadows.

"Prince Thor! The goddess-" the guard's head was thrown against the wall, the hit knocking him out.

"I love the transformations." Thor's face smiled, his face changing back to Eira's. She smirked up at Loki, opening the door to the cell.

"Of all the people to take their form..." Loki walked out of the cell, a somehow disapproving smile on his face.

She chuckled. "I thought of teasing you around a bit."

They both went out of the dungeons, crossing the corridors with fast steps. The late hour of the night made it easier for them to slip around the palace unnoticed. When they would come across a guard, they would knock him out, Eira with her fans and Loki with his hands.

As they approached the main hall, they were practically tiptoeing. "I need to get my scepter. I heard Thor brought it-"

Eira pushed Loki against a column, her body close to his and a finger being the only thing separating their lips, in a 'silence' manner. Loki's eyes widened.

"Shhh, hush!" she whispered, both of them not moving a muscle as a group of four or five guards approached. Eira stared at Loki's eyes for a moment, till the guards passed beside them.

With a quick move, Eira turned into smoke, divided herself in three pieces and hit three guards, knocking them out. Loki attacked the other two, managing to detach their weapons and bang their heads together.

"You were saying something about a scepter." she stated, as she reformed back.

"My scepter. I heard that Thor brought it here, to examine its sphere. I need to take it back."

Eira glanced at the floor for a moment. "Did you use this scepter to attack Midgard?"

He hesitated. He knew Eira was against the things he had done to Midgard, but right now there was no point in lying. She wouldn't believe him. "Yes."

She shook her head, eyes on the floor. She exhaled. Loki could tell that she was a bit disappointed. "Alright, I'll get it for you."

Loki's eyebrows shot up. Had she just...? "Sincerely?"

She gave a small grin, before she transformed into smoke and slipped inside the corridors. "I'm right on my way. Meet me at the gates."

It had been five minutes after Loki had reached to the gates, when Eira appeared again. He looked at her, expectantly. "So, you have it?"

Eira waved her hands, making Loki's scepter appear out of nowhere, before handing it to him. "You doubtful?"

Loki caressed the scepter in his hands, his eyes shining. It somehow felt different in his touch, which Loki assumed, was because Thanos and the Other had abandoned the mind control through the scepter, probably thinking that he would never lay hands on it again. "A small one, yes."

She smirked. They both got into one of the flying boats, Loki driving it to where Eira was telling him to. They passed through the secret passage they both knew of, ending up to where Eira had wanted. Svartalfheim.

As they got out of the boat and started walking, Eira was stealing glances around them. "We've been followed."

She span quickly around, throwing one of her fans towards a big rock. The fan hit the girl behind it on the head, making her fall on the ground, as it returned to Eira's hand. "And that's our spy."

* * *

 **That's for now, hang in there as we are going to have a small fighting scene and big emotion, all in the next chapter!**


	15. Choosing sides

Brenna had met at least eight princes during the days of Asgard's 'punishment', as Odin had said. Needless to say, she wanted to marry none of them, though it was harder for her to tell Allfather, as he had been distracted by those days of disaster.

That's why Brenna couldn't sleep tonight. The thoughts wouldn't leave her head. First, she had to figure out what she was going to do with the suitors. Then, there was her brother, from whom she hadn't had any news for over two years and she had started to be worried for him. And the last, she wanted to learn what this 'punishment' was. She hadn't been touched by that disaster, but still she wanted to understand what was happening. All those things, somehow reminded her of her sister's tricks.

Brenna left her room and walked across the corridors, trying to take her mind off of all those troubling matters. When she heard a weak, mumbled groan. Her curiosity guided her towards the sound. Her eyes searched through the darkness, spotting a floating smoke around the corner. She hide behind a column, watching with interest. As the smoke flied towards the gates, Brenna followed close behind, always hidden from sight.

How she managed to follow Loki and that woman through a magic portal on a boat, she didn't quite realize herself. Why she hadn't sound the alarm, as she should have done? Because Loki had been her friend and if she wanted, she would arrest him and his companion herself. It was a matter of pride, and a bit of friendliness towards her childhood friend, she thought.

But of course, she wasn't known for her sneaking abilities. And now, here she was. On the ground, with a pained head from a flying fan, spotted by both Loki and the woman.

Brenna slowly rose to her full height, cautiously moving her hands behind her back, taking hold of her blades, their pointed tips looking at the ground. She was a bit confused that Loki hadn't said anything to her, assuming that he must be blaming her as well for his true parentage and such. "I don't want to fight you, but if the only way to take you back to Asgard is to make you slip into unconsciousness, then I'll do just that."

"Ohh, does Odin have changed you so much?" asked the prince, messing around with her, obviously. He didn't mentioned her name on purpose, in case Eira turned against him for not telling her.

Brenna's expression almost gave away her hurt. "Why you're so tough with me, Loki? We were friends, I always supported you."

Loki knew it was true, but right now he had to play his role properly, for Eira was watching. "You know this girl?"

"Yes, we used to keep each other company, once."

Eira turned to Brenna again. A smirk forming on her thin lips. "Doesn't your friend know that it's impolite to spy on people?"

"And don't you know that is illegal to escape from prison?" She answered back, her grip on the blades tightening.

Eira prepared her fans, smiling deviously. "A little more chat and I might fall for you."

Brenna took out her blades, attacking her. The blades crushed against the fans, the weapons pushing each other for dominance. Eira pushed the blades to the side, moving to scratch Brenna's cheek and shoulder. Brenna blocked the attacks with her blades, trying some attacks herself. Both girls were spinning around themselves before attacking most of the time, surprisingly keeping their balance.

Eira used her fans to push the blades out of her way to Brenna's body, taking the chance to kick her on the stomach. Brenna took a few steps back, suppressing a groan. She raised her eyes just in time to see Eira throwing flying knives from the fans to her. Quickly, she moved the blades in front of her face, beating off all the knives.

Eira closed the distance between them, dodging backwards, almost making a square corner with her body, to avoid Brenna's blades stretching right and left, when she tried to slash her throat and chop off her head. Brenna went for Eira's legs, when she jumped, she went for her head, Eira ducking in time. Brenna caught Eira off guard when she used one blade to block a kick on the face and used the base of the other one to hit Eira on the jaw.

Eira stumbled backwards, feeling her jaw with anger. Out of the corner of her eye, Brenna aimed an attack on her once again. Eira moved her fan, trapping both blades in it and pushed Brenna against a big rock, her free fan on her throat. "You're good, sweetie. But, you can't win what you can't predict."

Brenna froze, her eyes widening. This move, those words. She would recognize the signs everywhere. And now that she was closer...those shining honey eyes..."Eira?"

Eira's eyes widened, her expression surprised. She quickly released Brenna's blades, backing away from her to give her some space. She stared at Brenna, as the younger girl stood straight again. The girl was hardly holding back her smile. "Is that you?"

Eira frowned titling her head to the side. "How do you know my name?"

Brenna took a step forward, excited. " It's me, Brenna! Do you remember me?"

Eira narrowed her eyes, not in a threatening way, but in a curious one. "Brenna?"

Brenna nodded rapidly, a wide smile on her face. Eira's face lighted up into a huge smile of her own, recognizing her sister's face at last. It was so long ago, the last time she had seen her sweet face, but now that she was looking at her more closely and calmly, there was no doubt who she was talking to. She felt sorry that she hadn't recognized it earlier. "Brenna!"

The two girls threw their arms around each other, hugging so tightly that Loki, who had been watching the whole time in complete silence, thought their bones were going to snap in half.

Eira squeezed her eyes shut, happiness overwhelming her. "I thought you were dead."

Brenna's eyes were wet, tears of her own joy escaping her closed eyelids. She didn't miss the saddened tone in her sister's voice as she whispered that sentence in her ear. "Same goes for you."

Eira let go of Brenna after a moment longer, examining her face with her honey eyes, a look of confusion spreading on her features. "But how? How can you still be alive, I saw a house in fire collapsing onto you! And how do you know Loki?"

Brenna answered without hesitation. "I was living in the palace of Asgard and he and I were friends. But how do you know him?"

"I met him in the dungeons after-" Eira stopped short, raising an eyebrow and eyeing Brenna suspiciously when her words finally downed on her. "Wait. You said you were...living in the palace? Like what? A servant?"

Brenna shook her head, missing the slightly changing tone of Eira's voice from confusion to a raising anger. "No, Odin had allowed me to stay, to keep company to his sons, Thor and Loki."

Eira's eyes widened unconsciously, her body stiffening. She hadn't just heard that. She couldn't believe it, this was beyond her imagination. She slowly backed away, her voice coming out in a gasp. "What? And you stayed with him?! Did you forget what he did to us?! How could you do this?!"

It was now Brenna's turn to widen her eyes, shock overtaking her body. Only now realizing how her sister was feeling, and how she was thinking of all of this. "I know what he did, but I needed to find a place to stay. What would you do, if you were left alone with your baby brother in your arms, without home or food?! My king gave me shelter and I learned to be grateful to him."

Eira's face had softened at the mention of Brenna all alone, with her baby brother. Only to turn into an expression of disgust at the last sentence, her voice mocking. "King? This is how you call him? How pitiful" she almost spat.

Brenna grabbed Eira by the shoulders, her eyes wet once again. She was so desperate to have her sister's approval, she couldn't stand the thought of them fighting over something like this, when they had just met each other after so many years separated. "I had lost all hope. I thought you were dead!"

Eira's face was now unreadable, almost stone. "Did you mourn?"

"Of course I did! Our king-"

The eldest woman hold up a hand to stop her from finishing that sentence. She simply won't have it. "Your. King."

She pushed her hands off of her, glaring at the younger's face. She didn't want to be so cold to her, but right now she had no control of her emotions. She was letting them out freely. And unfortunately, Brenna was the one to take them in. "I believe he did tell you about the attack to the palace and Asgard's punishment, did he not?"

Brenna watched as Eira started walking away, realizing what she meant to say. Even though she wasn't as smart as her sister, she could understand why she did those things. To show Allfather the pain he had caused upon her. "Why can't you forgive him? You always approved my decisions, so why not this one as well? We were raised together, we fought together, we laughed together. Do you remember none of that?!"

Eira turned to her, calmness hiding her sorrow, though the tone of her voice gave away a hint of her pain. "I remember a fire. An army slaughtering our people and flames burning our home. I remember him taking everything away from me. Only because he was denied what he wanted!"

Brenna stayed silent. She couldn't think of anything to say, because she knew her sister was right. "You want to know why I'm not forgiving him?" Eira continued. "Because he simply won't let me to do so. Trying to force me to become his mindless pawn, use me to make arrangements of peace!"

The younger woman gulped at that. She tried not to remember her own current position, but Eira knew her all too well. Slowly stepping closer to her once more, she read her reaction like an open book. "He did the same to you, right? That's why he took you in, in the first place. And Calder? Do you know what happened to him?!"

Brenna took a fearful step backwards. "He did nothing to him. Calder was sent to learn the art of battle, two years ago, even though he was always against Allfather."

Eira smiled sadly, talking mostly to herself. "So, Calder was imprisoned because he was doing the right thing..."

Brenna's eyes widened. "What?"

"Calder had been in the dungeons during those two years you speak of, before your king killed him!" Eira yelled furiously, spitting at the word _'king'_. "Only because he wouldn't forgive him for the death of our parents!"

Brenna shook her head in denial. She couldn't accept that. Not that. "No, this can't be true! It's a lie!"

Eira narrowed her eyes at her. "Then ask him! Ask your king if he gave him any chance before he killed him! If you had known about it earlier, would you be faithful to Allfather? When you let Calder die?!"

Loki kept looking between the two girls, his face neutral. The fight reminded him of his own fights with Thor, only now the situation was more serious. He wasn't going to interfere, they had their own family problems. He couldn't actually say that he wasn't a little bit guilty for not telling Eira that he knew Brenna earlier, but now it wasn't the time to do anything.

Brenna's eyes were wet, the anger clear on her face. "Why, you helped him a lot from your cell, didn't you?!"

Eira glared dangerously, anger mixed with sorrow. She was losing control over her body, the same way she had lost control over her emotions moments ago. "Who put me there? WHO PUT ME THERE?!"

Brenna couldn't stand it anymore. Her hands moved on their own, pushing Eira against a big rock with as much force she had, managing to pin her onto it, despite her sister's pushing back. "You know well who! You know damn very well who!"

The two girls looked at each other's eyes, their bodies freezing momentary. The realization of their situation dwelling on them. Brenna slowly let go of her sister, staring at her with all her pain rolling on her face. "He wouldn't want us to fight."

"Well, he wouldn't exactly want to miss the show." Eira joked, giving a small grin at her, reminding Brenna of her cocky, mischievous behavior she used to have towards her. A good memory, for sure.

Brenna smiled sadly. "Why won't you come home with me?"

Eira gave a half-hearted laugh. "I don't have a home, the way you mean it. Those people are not, and will never be my family."

Brenna grabbed Eira's arm desperately, turning her to face her. "Please don't go. I don't want to lose you again."

"You just did." She answered coldly, emotionlessly. When she was like that, she was hurt. Brenna knew that. She also knew that when her sister was like that, nothing could be said to change her decisions. Eira shoved Brenna away, face as straight as a stone. "You chose your side, and now you're my enemy."

Brenna refused to believe what she was hearing. All this situation seemed like a giant 'No' to her. She glanced at Loki desperately, asking for any kind of help he could provide her with. He turned his eyes away. He himself could clearly see that there was nothing he could do to convince Eira to change her mind. Especially because he didn't believe it right to do so. Actually, he would have the same reaction if he were her. Brenna sighed in defeat, closing her eyes. "I understand."

She slowly walked to her flying boat, disappearing into the portal, back to Asgard. She wasn't going to tell anything to Odin, but she surely was going to ask about Calder. She needed to know, whether what Eira had said was true or not.

Eira looked at the floor, closing her eyes. She didn't want to push Brenna away, not now of all times that she had found her. But she was feeling betrayed by her only sister and this was stronger than her will to keep her with her. She tried to push away those thoughts, focusing on Loki when she felt him close to her. "Why you said nothing about her?"

He silently gulped. He had predicted that reaction from her, and he couldn't really blame her. "Because as you realized, the reunion didn't end up so smoothly."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't play coy with me Loki! How could you know how the 'reunion' would end up?!"

He raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Your sister living with your worst enemy is a form of betrayal, if I'm not mistaken. So how could this end up happily?"

She stared at him speechless, her anger vanishing. He was right, that she would admit. At least to herself, that is. Then again, the reason he hadn't spoken a word about Brenna when they were in the dungeons, deeply troubled her. Because she didn't know what that reason was. "You can use the scepter in any way you want. But if you try to provoke another war, you will be facing me as your enemy."

He simply blinked, nodding slowly.

* * *

 **I am so so sorry, it took me so long to update! I was kept back by my exams and I had no time to myself, to write new chapters! But! Now that I am back, I will update a bunch of chapters I have prepared and then I will try to keep up just as quickly! I have also posted how Brenna looks like in my Deviantart account, if you want to check it out!** **The link is in my profile!**


	16. Welcome to Baldr

Brenna closed the door of her room behind her, leaning her back against it. Her eyes were shut, her head was thrown back, her hand reaching to cover her mouth. Her feet wouldn't hold her weight anymore, and so she slowly slid down to the floor, silent tears escaping her thin eyelashes and running down her flushed cheeks. Calder was dead. Odin had confessed it after great pressure from Brenna. Of course, she hadn't mentioned the events of the night, leaving her sister and Loki completely out of the conversation. She was emotional, not a fool. At some point, he had tried to avoid telling her about her brother, but she wouldn't leave the throne room without an answer to her request; What had truly happened to Calder?

In the end, Odin had realized that Brenna was suspicious of why she wasn't receiving any news from her brother, and he had decided to tell her the truth. He hadn't mentioned anything about Eira, only the fact that he tried to stop Calder from releasing a 'dangerous enemy to the kingdom'. He had said that what happened was never his intension. As for the imprisonment, he had dismissed the subject as 'punishment' and 'a way to teach the boy some manners that he lacked of'.

So Eira was right. She was right about everything. And Brenna had suspected nothing all those years. She was always a bit more open and kind-hearted than her sister, always trying to see the good in people. But, as it now seemed clear to her, this effort of hers to believe that there was something good for her in Odin's actions, had blinded her from seeing what his true intentions were. He had changed almost nothing of his ways during all this time. And now, Brenna had once again lost her family. She had pushed away Eira, and her brother was dead.

A knock on her door startled her, her thoughts vanishing instantly from her head. She quickly whipped away her tears and tried to look as calm and collected as possible. She had asked the leader of the guard to bring her the body of her brother. That should be him. She stood up, taking a few shaky breaths and opened the door.

The man she was expecting to see was standing in her doorway. Hands empty. A sad look on his face, eyes cast down. "I am deeply sorry lady Brenna. The body is missing. The prisoners must have escaped with it."

* * *

Loki and Eira stood before a big rock. Her necklace shined brightly, making the rock to split in half. As they stepped inside the big crack that had formed, Loki realized that it was a portal, just like the one he had led them through from Asgard. They walked for what seemed like a minute. Because when he blinked his eyes, he found himself gazing out at a marble- built town, surrounded by giant, dense forests and vegetation, a palace almost similar in size to Loki's old home standing proudly at the far end of the town.

"Welcome to Baldr." Eira grinned, walking towards the breathtaking town. Loki had never seen a town made of such smooth white marble. Nor he had ever seen a town with roads that had small trees and flowers on either side of them. As he followed Eira, he let his eyes roam around the place. The houses were all made of marble, white in color, but it looked like it could capture the sun's light and reflect its colors, like the crystals. Even though it couldn't be cleaned like it was a simple wooden floor, he noticed that the reflection of his face was clear to see on the marble, almost like a mirror.

The roads weren't very wide, just enough for a carriage to pass. Small shops were built beside the houses, open benches with fruits and other foods were set, with a smiling salesman behind it. When they had passed through the entrance of the town the gatekeeper, dressed in his armor with much less gold than Heimdall's armor but with equal glory, had smiled widely when he had seen them, and right after he had greeted them, he blew air inside a bugle.

As they reached outside of the palace's outer gates, the whole population of Baldr, men, women and children gathered around the pair, cheering and yelling the name of the goddess. Eira couldn't stop smiling in, what Loki could clearly see, was happiness.

"Your majesty." They all bowed their heads respectfully at her, the ones closer to her even kneeling before her. Loki felt a small amount of jealousy rush over him. She was so adored from her people, she had them kneeling in front of her. It was like one of his most passionate desires was unfolding in front of him, only it was for someone else. He watched as Eira told the people who kneeled to stand back up. Personally he would have let them there.

"We're very grateful that you're back, your highness!" A man stepped forward, bowing his head to her. When she nodded to thank him, his eyes fell upon the prince beside her. His smile didn't wavered, though his eyes now shined with curiousness. "May I ask, my queen, the name of your guest?"

Loki suppressed a gulp. Surely his reputation had spread itself all over the Nine Realms, so it was a matter of time, till the whole Baldr started to judge him.

"This is prince Loki. Of Asgard." Eira answered, gaining shocked looks from the crowd, some of them gasping. Loki felt like he had been kicked in the gut.

"Is he going to destroy us?" asked a small girl, innocently. Eira was shocked. She would have expected this reaction from other people but never from hers. She had taught them, long ago, never to judge by appearance or rumors. She looked at all of them.

"This is how I've told you to treat others? You think that Asgardians exist to kill us? What happened years ago was Odin's fault, alone. Not all Asgardians are the same. And we should never judge someone because of his reputation. Not before we get to know them first. So, I want all of you to treat others the way you treat your loved ones. Including prince Loki. Because no matter what he, or any other, have done they deserve compassion."

Loki looked at her, unable to mask his surprise. She was actually defending him to her own people. And by the looks on the other's faces, they felt embarrassed for acting that way towards him. They were agreeing to her words, not because of her royal place, but because she was talking wisely. They didn't looked brainwashed or anything sort of that, they looked like all of their trust was upon Eira's form. And, even more surprisingly, as he and the queen walked towards the palace, the crow around them bowed their heads to her and to his person. The exact same thing happened with the guards who opened them the doors. "Queen Eira, prince Loki."

When the doors were closed and they both had escaped the eyes of the people, Eira stretched her arms out, in a motion to show him the room. It was as spacious as Odin's, with red colored marble walls and floor, thick columns left and right of the throne with a crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, decorated with glass raindrops. Golden curtains were placed in the shape of a half moon on the tops of the columns, and sunlight was spilling from somewhere above. The throne was made of red crystal, in the form of a big rose. The 'leaves' around it were golden, giving a warm light to it. In the centre of the giant flower were carved two seats. One for the king and one for the queen, symbolizing the equally powerful couple."And this, my dear prince, is the throne room."

She felt a strong grip on her arm and the next thing she knew, she was turned around to look at him. He was staring intently at her, but not warily or angrily. He was trying to read her mind with his eyes, his voice was strong, but not demanding. He knew better than order her around. It was curious and decorated with slight hints of hope. "Why did you defend me back there?"

She titled her head to the side, but her face wasn't confused. "Because everyone deserves respect. No matter what mistakes they have done. And you deserve it most. Nobody can judge someone, because no one is perfect."

He took away his hand after a moment. "But you don't act like that to Odin."

Her face darkened immediately. "That was not a mistake. People do mistakes when they don't have knowledge of something, or when they try to do something good, using the wrong way. Odin's case is nothing like these."

"And what makes you think that my case is one of those?"

"You. Your reaction towards your brother and the way you act. But, tonight you'll tell me everything. Not only why you were imprisoned."

Loki wanted to tell her something, when they were interrupted by a man walking into the room. "Queen Eira! Finally, you're back!"

She turned to him, a bright smile on her face. The man was tall, with a round face and strong shoulders, around 32. He had his brown hair up in a ponytail, slight signs of a shaved moustache on his upper lip. He was dressed in a blue V-neck shirt, a red belt and white pants. Barefoot.

"My dear Arvid, I'm so happy to see you! This is prince Loki, of Asgard. Loki, this is Arvid, a family friend and royal vizier. He used to help Baldr, the god who created our world and he was such a good friend that Baldr used the power of one and only flower, to stop his time. He can't grow any older now, and he can also do some conjuration tricks."

Arvid bowed deeply in front of Loki and the prince mimicked him with a bit of hesitation. He wasn't used to bow towards others beneath him, but Eira was doing so to everyone. And so far, she had only showed him what was best for him. Maybe this was one of them too...

"Prince Loki will be my guest for a while. I would like you to show him around and to his room."

Arvid's face brightened with a smile. "After the welcoming?"

"After the welcoming." she returned his smile and turned to whisper an explanation to Loki, while music from thin air started playing. "He always sings to our guests."

Arvid moved to the centre of the room, making the light to fall only upon him and turned to Loki with a smile. "Master, I believe I should show you how your stay here will unfold with me," at that, blue sparkling dust flew out of his palm to them, lifting the two and setting them on a couch it created from thin air. "so why don't you just ruminate whilst I illuminate the possibilities."

 **Well all kings have forty maids,**

 **scheherazade servants for every task**

At that, he created maids and servants who approached them with any kind of tools, ready to serve them. Loki and Eira drew instinctively back towards each other, seeing the massive number of them. Suddenly Arvid popped to Loki's side.

 **Well, master, you in luck**

 **cause to your feet, you got a magic servant never fails**

With that, Arvid's feet grew massive in size, kicking away each servant he had previously created. The next moment, Loki was standing with his scepter ready for fight, Eira by his side and Arvid rubbing his shoulders.

 **You got some power in your side now**

He left Loki's side for a moment, lighting up some fireworks.

 **Some heavy ammunition in your camp**

Eira barely managed to pull Loki down with her, before the fireworks hit them. Arvid became tiny and flew in their faces.

 **You got some Punch! Pizzaz! Yahoo! And how,**

 **see all you gotta do is call my name, and I'll say**

This time he grew gigantic, smiling down at them as he made a table for them. Then he dressed himself as a guard on duty, standing in attention.

 **Mr. Loki sir, what will your pleasure be?**

 **Let me hear your orders, make them true**

 **You ain't never had a friend like me, HOH HOH HOH!**

He patted Loki on the chest, then elbowed a smiling Eira playfully on the arm. Afterwards, he made a covered dish to appear, taking off the cover to reveal cooked chicken.

 **Life is your dining hall, and I'm your talented chef!**

The chicken turned to Arvid's head, much to Loki's surprise, before Arvid emerged whole from the plate, putting his ear closer and closer to Loki's face.

 **C'mon whisper what it is you want, you ain't never had a friend like me**

The table disappeared, and clones of Arvid started attending to Loki and Eira in every task imaginable.

 **Yes sir, we pride ourselves on service**

 **You're the boss! The king! The SHAH!**

 **Say what you wish, it's yours, true dish, how 'bout a little more banana?**

He made them sit on a couch, fruits and sweets to their feet. Shaking the sleeve of his shirt above their heads, the couple was immediately covered by bananas. The next thing they knew, they were falling together from the tops of some columns.

 **Have some of column 'A', try all of column 'B'**

They both fell on a giant pillow, Arvid smiling at them before sticking out his tongue and a smaller clone of him stepped out of his mouth and started dancing, his hands making funny faces.

 **I'm in the mood, to serve you dude**

 **You ain't never had a friend like me**

 **Oh My! No No! Nah Nah!**

 **Can your friends do this?**

He took off his head and made multiple copies of it, throwing them over his head and catching them. The next second, he passed them to Eira who made the same trick with ease, before giving them back to him.

 **Can your friends do that?**

 **Can your friends pull this out their little hat?**

He took out of his shirt a long ribbon, wrapping it around himself and tearing it afterwards to allow them see his disguise as a dragon. And then he blew fire towards them.

 **Can your friends go Poof?!**

The fire turned to three copies of Eira dressed in tight short dresses and to three blonde men with armor. Eira's copies started dancing close to Loki, whose heart skipped a beat and his face almost flashed red. Somehow, he couldn't say that he disliked that. What he did dislike though, was the men that had started touching Eira's hair, arms and waist. He only wanted them to stop touching her. Eira too, was a bit lost with this.

 **Well, looky here! HA HA!**

 **Can your friends go Abracadabra, let 'er rip and then make the sucker disappear?**

With that, all of the men and Eira's copies disappeared, leaving only the original two. Arvid, moved to their faces.

 **So doncha sit there slack jawed, buggy-eyed**

 **I'm here to answer all your midday commands**

With that, he jumped off of Eira's open palms, then turned into a contract and tackled both of them, span them and released them, the two ending up in each other's arms.

 **You got me bona fide, certified, you got a servant for your charge d'affaires**

 **I got a powerful urge to help you out, so what-cha want I really wanna know**

Then, he pulled a long piece of paper from Loki's ear, formed a cone with it and sang through it.

 **You got a list that's three miles long, no doubt well**

 **all you gotta do is call like so- and OH**

Suddenly Arvid and Eira disappeared, leaving Loki with one of Eira's clones, which was coming too close to his face, or more specifically, his lips. Surprisingly, he didn't back away. But then, the clone disappeared and he found his cheek pressed to Arvid's one and Eira was holding back a laugh from beside him.

 **Mister Loki sir, have a wish or two or three**

 **I'm on the job**

 **you big Nabob**

And for the grand finale, he made maids, servants, jewelry, dancers and colorful lights to appear all around them, a bunch of men throwing the couple high in the air.

 **You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend**

 **You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend**

 **You ain't never, had a, friend like me**

 **HA HA HA!**

 **HA HA HA!**

 **You ain't never had a friend like me!**

And in the blink of an eye, everything disappeared. The only thing that remained was a bowing Arvid and an applauding Eira. "Bravo, it was wonderful! Just like always Arvid! You never lose your talent."

Loki had a small smile on his face as he slowly joined Eira into applauding. This show had been more than unexpected to him, but the truth was that he had actually enjoyed it. He would never have watched something like this take place in Asgard. "I have to say, that was very entertaining. And definitely, the most unique way I have ever been greeted."

Arvid bowed even more, if that was ever possible, a smile on his lips and satisfaction in his heart. "Thank you very much, my lord. It is an honor to be complimented by my queen's guest. My lady, I will show the young prince to his chambers while you meet with your people."

She nodded to both Loki and Arvid as they went out of the room. Arvid showed Loki around, not leaving a single part of the palace out of the tour. Loki was a bit surprised to see that the palace was as big as Asgard's, maybe even bigger. And he also noticed that the dungeons were smaller and completely empty. The tour ended with Arvid escorting him to a room behind a golden, carved door.

"I guessed you like green." Arvid said politely, opening the door. The god stared at it, barely hiding his astonishment. The room was made of bright green marble, all the furniture were gold with carvings of plants and animals. There were everything a prince's chamber would need, and even more. A wardrobe, a table with papers and ink, filled bookshelves, two green velvet couches in the middle of the room, around a circular open fireplace, where a big fire was burning, a big balcony with an overview of the gardens and the forest, a human-shaped doll for the armors and a king sized golden bed, with light green silk sheets. The pillows and mattress looked very soft as they were.

"I'll leave you to make yourself comfortable. Queen Eira will be in the throne room for the next hour." Arvid informed, closing the door behind him as he left.

Loki looked around the room, his eyes stopping on the bookshelves. He walked there and picked up a random book, sitting on one of the couches, near the fireplace. But he couldn't concentrate on the book. He was thinking, instead, of the people here in Baldr and the way they treated him up to now. Surely, just because Eira had told them to treat him nicely, they hadn't been convinced, but he being the god of lies, he hadn't found a single sign of pretence in them, when they were smiling and bowing to him. Hesitance, maybe. Uneasiness was understood. Nervousness for sure. But not pretence.

Which meant that, either Eira was controlling their minds, or they had really being raised and educated by their lost relatives to be polite and friendly to others, no matter how or who they were. To be honest, he actually seemed to like these people more than the ones in Asgard. They were exactly the opposite from most of the people he had ever talked with in Asgard. They knew absolutely nothing good about him, they knew only his reputation and what he had done, but still they were polite to him and no one judged him, no one asked accusing questions, no one shot him glares or whispered behind his back. No one was afraid of him. Everyone respected him. So far, that is.

He shook his head, closing the book. Better not form a very good image of them too soon. Let's see how they'll be with him during his stay. Then, it hit him.

What was he going to do during his stay? And how long his stay would be? He thought for a moment, a small smirk forming on his lips as he found the object of his future entertainment. Eira was in the throne room, huh?

* * *

 **Sorry for the long wait! I wrote a long chapter to make it up to you! Truth is, I don't know whether the next chapters will be this long or not, but I will do everything I can!**

 **The song is from the Aladdin movie, 'Friend like me' from Genie. I just couldn't help myself!**


	17. Problems and dress codes

Eira nodded with a smile at the bowing man, before she politely dismissed him. As she watched him leave, she glanced at the long row of people in front of her throne, barely keeping in a sigh. All those people needed answers to their problems, advice on what to do. And she had to help them. She didn't dislike this weekly obligation, actually, she was the one who had established this law, the ruler giving solutions to the people's problems.

What she really didn't like was the fact that she could that most of their problems had been created after the war. For almost ten years, her people were facing problems with the land and the supplies, resulting in them being too poor to survive. Thank the Gods, she had managed to return most of the population of Baldr back to the wealthy and comfortable way of living they were used to, before the war. But still, there remained a small part of Baldrians which still lived under very poor circumstances.

"My queen, there's a small patch of land which I need to work on, to feed my family. But my neighbor wants it as well. We're very poor to give it, your highness." a man dressed in rugs kneeled before her.

Eira listened carefully before she started talking about sharing the land, the man who had more mouths to feed would take a bigger part of it. Somehow though, she started having the feeling that someone was watching her.

For a whole hour, Loki was standing behind a column, watching Eira giving solutions and advice to the people in front of her. He was surprised at how many problems her people had when they seemed to live a careless, happy life.

He was standing there, listening with interest and slight delight her words and logic, leaving her mouth. It was obvious to him that she was trying her best to help them, her concern clear in her voice. It was really immensely valuable of her to try to be there for them, and the fact that no one walked out of the palace with an unpleased expression on their face. He found it something that no one had ever thought to do in Asgard, not even Odin. In other cases, he would have simply ignored this action, or even consider it foolishness. But seeing her doing it, made him see it as something completely different. She was more of a caring person than she showed to him. Maybe he could do it as well. If he ever gets a kingdom to rule, of course.

At some point, Eira leaned her back on the throne, closing her eyes and allowing herself the luxury of relaxation. The last man of the row had just left. So many problems, so much misery, all because of that war. Her people needed her, but she wasn't at all confident that she could help them. God Baldr, give her strength.

She stood from the throne and started making her way out of the throne room, towards the gardens, praying to Baldr. All the while glancing at the sky, or the people around her.

 **I don't know if you can hear me**

 **or if you're even there.**

 **I don't know if you would listen**

 **to a witch's prayer.**

 **Yes I know I'm just an outcast**

 **I shouldn't speak to you**

 **still I see your face and wonder**

 **were you once, an outcast, too?**

 **Baldr help the outcasts**

 **struggling from birth**

 **show them the mercy,**

 **they were never given**

 **Baldr help my people**

 **we look to you still**

 **Baldr help the outcasts**

 **or nobody will**

 **They ask for wealth**

 **They ask for fame**

 **They ask for glory to shine on their names**

 **They ask for love**

 **They can possess**

 **They ask for Baldr and his men**

 **To bless them**

 **I ask for nothing**

 **I can get by**

 **but I know so many**

 **less lucky than I**

 **please help my people**

 **the poor and down trod**

 **I thought we all were**

 **children of yours**

 **Baldr help the outcasts**

 **children, of, yours**

She leaned her back against a tree, sighing and covering her eyes with her hand. What was she going to do from now on?

"I never thought you were a person of faith and prayers." Loki stepped out of his hiding place, as he had followed her from the beginning of her prayer. Her response was a quick look of surprise before it was replaced by a small grin.

"When the problems can't be solved, every person might turn to God's help. Even though some of us are gods already." she said with a soft, yet teasing tone.

"They do have quite the problems." he pointed out the fact, sounding a bit confused, if not sympathetic.

"I am not surprised. After the war, I managed to save the bigger part of the population but they were in an impoverished situation. Things have improved remarkably fast, but there are still families who were affected by the war."

He frowned. "How bad is it?"

"Follow me." She started walking out of the royal gardens and towards the town. Loki followed her around the busy roads of the town, glancing at the marble colorful houses, the shining stone floors and the lush.

They had reached to the edge of the town when they turned into an alley. And as they walked further, the marble houses were replaced by dirty half-fallen houses made of rotten wood. The floor was covered in dirt and mud and the whole neighborhood was dark and colorless as if the sun had abandoned this place long ago.

Loki looked around in slight shock. He had never seen something like that. "What is this place?"

"Shhh." Eira motioned with her head to one of the damaged houses, at the entrance of which, were sitting two little boys, playing with a stick. Loki felt something inside of him flatter, seeing the condition they were in.

When the boys noticed them, they fell on their knees in front of them, trembling with fear. Loki was surprised at that, eyes widening. His surprise grew much more when Eira knelt in front of them and lifted them to sit up, smiling kindly at them.

She turned to him, motioning for him to kneel as well. Loki simply stood there, too shocked to react. The idea of him kneeling along with two dirty, rug-dressed boys was unbearable. He was a god of Asgard, a prince. Kneeling.

He felt a warm hand catching softly his cool one and slowly pulling him down. He looked at the hand, only to realize that it belonged to Eira. She was pulling him down to kneel. He should fight, he should pull away, glare at her, yell, turn around and leave, at least do something. But the softness and the warmth of the hand in his own felt like a soothing lullaby, a reassuring voice in the back of his head. It gave him a feeling that was all too familiar to him. Something that he would feel as a child each time his mother would hold him in her arms, after a small punishment or a lecture he had been given. He felt safe, relaxed, protected.

He looked down to Eira, trying to get rid of the thought of her hand in his. That didn't help though, once his eyes found her face. She was looking at him, more correctly smiling at him, warmly, gently, reassuring him that it was okay to kneel. She was hypnotizing him. Her eyes sparkled with hope that he would listen to her. He gulped...

And obeyed.

He knelt beside her and just watched, unable to understand what had come over him. Eira pulled out a big piece of bread, cut it in two parts and gave it to the boys. Their eyes shined as they snatched the bread from her hands and ate it within seconds. Loki would have been disgusted by their behavior, but seeing their hopeful faces and how they had relaxed when he had knelt to their level chased the thought away from his mind. As Eira ruffled affectionately their hair, more kids started coming out of the houses and towards them, followed by their parents.

Loki examined them briefly. He had no idea how many they were. Eira took out three small bags with money and offered them to those people. They immediately opened them and started sharing the money with each other, thanking her with ways no one could ever thank someone.

"I'm sorry, I can do nothing more." she said, gaining a look of pure surprise and a bit of admiration from Loki. How she could be so compassionate, caring and gentle was beyond himself.

"Why are there so many like them?" Loki asked, while they were heading back towards the palace.

"Their lands have been unproductive since after the war. The only way for them to fructify again is to sow the seeds of a specific kind of plant that grows only in the royal gardens of Asgard."

"I see." Loki looked away, pretending to be interested in the houses around them. Of course, if the only way to help those people was guarded by the enemy's house, she couldn't do much. The idea of trying to steal it from the palace was a suicide. Still, she was trying to help her people as much as she could. Like a true, wise ruler. Something he still hadn't proved himself to be...

"Would you like to see where the training ground is?" Eira asked, changing the subject when she caught his distant and almost hurt look. He accepted without turning to look at her.

They reached an open space of the town with trees and flora like a small jungle, where various training mechanisms were set. Kids were exercising on them, climbing up trees, fighting with wooden weapons of all kind and hiding from the 'enemy'.

The two gods stood aside, observing, the Asgardian Frost Giant with a hint of admiration in his eyes. The training before him looked tougher than Asgard's, though the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves. The trainer was making clear to all of them that this training was to be used only in case of great danger, never against an innocent.

Then the sound of a trumpet signaled the children's break. A small girl spotted Eira and Loki observing them and squealed. "Guys! The queen is here!"

Before Loki was able to understand what was happening, the whole training class had surrounded them, smiling up at them, asking questions of their queen.

She chuckled, holding up her hands to calm them down. "Easy now, young warriors."

A little boy chirmed up. "Tell us about your adventures out there, queen Eira."

"Yes! And the dangers you've faced!" a girl interrupted. Loki gave them a strange look. These children, their excitement, reminded him of Thor when they were young boys, waiting with impatience for their father to return from the war. He despised those thoughts.

"Is prince Loki a bad man for Asgard like you, queen Eira?" His thoughts were interrupted when this question escaped a child's mouth. He stood there, looking at the kids with slightly wider eyes than before.

'A bad man for Asgard'. He, who was the rightful king of that realm...betrayed. Had he really given all those people, all over the universe, the idea of him, as not a cruel king but a simple 'bad man'? Could he actually have used a wrong way of approaching the throne? He had been through pain, betrayal, hate, rage all of this...for just being called a 'bad man'? Did he really resemble a 'bad man'? Was he just like a bad person? Just like...as the child had said...her?

"Well, I certainly don't believe he is that..." Eira's sweet, soft voice brought him back to his surroundings, catching a glance and a smile she gave him. "But I am more interested in learning how he gained his reputation."

His gaze fell on her figure on the ground, searching her eyes for anything that would prevent him from telling her. Another boy spoke up. "Are you attending to the feast tonight, Prince Loki?"

Both royals turned to the little boy. Loki was staring at it, deep in thought. Before he was able to answer, though, Eira turned to him with a smile, answering the question for him. "Yes, he does. Why not?"

He stared blankly. Why did he have a feeling that this feast should concern him? "We could talk then, right my prince?"

He snapped out of his thoughts yet again, his emerald green eyes focusing on the person whom he had only known for a week. He slowly nodded in agreement, as she stood up and walked over to the training space, where the children were leading her. "Tonight then?"

She nodded as well, walking away from him with the children. A soft breeze brushed against his ear to transport her whispered response, causing him to gulp almost in an uneasy way. "Tonight…"

The flames rose high, spreading comfortable warmth around the spacious room, their light combining with the one coming from the lightened torches on the walls. Outside, the stars were sparkling on the dark blue night sky, the blackness covering the whole town, except for its center. There, a small flame was giving away its light and the meaning of the feast being almost ready to begin.

Loki's eyes were buried in the sight of the flames burning the wood in the open fireplace of his room. Between the dancing flames, images appeared. Images of him, listening and watching Eira while she was unleashing her powers upon Asgard. Images of them showing off their powers, playing chess, talking, escaping. Eira fighting her sister, arguing with her, showing him the town, laughing during Arvid's welcome, helping her people. It all seemed so happy, as if the two were never imprisoned, never hurt.

His fists clenched unconsciously when the images showed Eira's conversations with Odin and the others, her torture, her wet face from crying after her nightmare.

A knock on his bedroom door was the only thing needed to snap the prince out of his thoughts for what seemed like... the third time that day? The images created by his mind disappeared. He spun around in his seat on the couch, looking at the closed door as if trying to predict who was about to enter. "Who is it?"

"Arvid, my lord." a male voice sounded from the other side of the double door. He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and stood up, walked towards the window with his back facing the door and clasped his hands behind his back. "Come in."

Arvid entered the room, standing a bit further from the prince, and bowed. "I came on behalf of queen Eira to inform you about tonight's feast. Considering the dress-code of your realm, you are not obligated to wear your armor. The only obligation is to wear anything but your robes."

Loki didn't turn, but he caught the joking tone of Arvid. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards, suppressing a chuckle. Though, something was telling him that Arvid hadn't only come for this announcement. "Anything else?"

"Yes my lord. Queen Eira will be waiting for you in her chambers to escort you to the feast." The servant allowed himself a grin when Loki turned to look at him, surprise and confusion on his face. He quickly added. "Of course, you will be the one escorting her. But, considering that you are unaware of our customs, she chose to put it this way."

Loki nodded, a small smirk on his face. Eira could be very stubborn if she wanted. In Asgard, Arvid would already have been executed for showing such courage and familiarity with his masters, but Loki couldn't care less. Since that man was always treating him with respect and as if he was a close person to him, Loki was more than fine with his treatment. Besides, this is what he had always wanted. People to treat him like a normal person, not as an insult. He had wanted real friends. "Thank you. I will be there in ten minutes."

Arvid bowed respectfully one more time, giving the prince another gentle smile before leaving. Loki moved towards the doll with his armor attached to it. He dressed in front of a full-length mirror, carefully examining the details on his armor and hair. It was the first time he was paying so much attention to his appearance.

Slipping his helmet on his head, he strode towards the end of the long corridor his room was in, to the queen's chambers. She was going to ask him. He knew it.

Eira was standing on her balcony, admiring the view of the city she had so much missed. A soft breeze was making her hair flow around her face as if she were swimming beneath the water's crystal surface. Arms wrapped around herself, she started humming a lullaby. She felt her eyes welling up with tears, but she really couldn't care less.

She heard light, unnoticeable footsteps slowly approaching her from behind. She tried to straighten her shoulders, some of her sadness leaving her when she understood who it was. Hold on…..where did that come from? "I apologize, I must have missed your knocking on the door, Prince Loki.

Loki came to stand beside her, eyes following where hers were looking at. "I didn't knock. It would be very heinous to interrupt such an enchanting melody…Your brother's lullaby."

He regretted speaking out loud the words the moment he turned to look at her face. She slowly closed her eyes, two shining tears running down her cheeks when she did so. A pained grin appeared on her face, head falling forward with a half-hearted laugh in her throat. "Your words can flatter even the worst of people."

Loki moved closer to her, looking straight into her eyes, tilting her head upwards with his fingers on her chin. "You're not among these types of people."

She took her eyes off of his, dropping them to the floor for a moment. In reality, part of her was still feeling sad about her brother. But, another part of her had dropped her head to hide a small smile that was threatening to appear on her face. Why had she started acting this girly all of a sudden when this guy was complimenting her?

Loki watched her contemplating whatever she was thinking in her mind when she raised her honey-colored eyes to his face again. She gave a small smile. "I am glad to hear that."

He stared at her face, setting an awkward silence between them. The way the light from the torches was falling on one side of her face and the moonlight was falling on the other side, toned her features. Her skin looked so soft and pearly, flawless. Her face was captivating. He felt like he was seeing it for the first time.

He unwillingly took his eyes from her face when she didn't look away, so as not to lengthen the silence between them. Another thing he liked about her: She was proud and confident, nothing like the women in Asgard who would cast their eyes to the floor and giggle silly at every word he spoke to flirt with them. Wait…..liked? Did he just think that?

He glanced, instead, at her dress, realizing that she hadn't changed from before. "Ready to go?"

The corners of her lips turned upwards a little, turning to face him. "Did you really think I would be going to the feast in my daily clothes?"

A soft purple light surrounded her figure, changing her dress into a long one, the same purple color, the opening of the cleavage going down to her feet with a single silver belt around her abdomen being the only thing keeping the dress closed. It was only exposing a simple black bra-top she was wearing, that showed a lot her curved breasts. Its sleeves had pointed parts on the forearms and were hugging her arms perfectly. Black shoes with silver drawings and small heels were decorating her feet, silver earrings and a hair band made of pearls adding to the set.

Loki felt his breath catch in his throat as his eyes roamed over her figure, noting all the lines on her curves. The dress was too scandalous for Asgard's standards, so much that she would be worse than a harlot. But knowing her, the only thing he felt was not disgust, but surprise and awe. She didn't look like a prostitute to him. She was just….enchantingly beautiful. "You look….ravishing."

She smiled, a funny feeling like tickling forming in her stomach. "I know it is too provocative for your standards, but you would be surprised to see that all of us are used to this kind of dress code…. You are way different from what the rumors describe."

She looked at his armor, admiring the way the leather and gold hugged his body, showing all the right places and lines of lean muscles. She didn't resist the urge to feel the leather on his chest, placing her open palm in the middle of it, her fingers twitching at the feeling. She failed to notice his body tensing up under her touch.

"You don't look dangerous, hateful or cold-hearted. You radiate power, intelligence, and kindness." Her hand slowly moved upwards, softly caressing the horns on his helmet. Loki was breathing slowly, deeply, his eyes never leaving hers. He was taking in every curve and small detail of her face, every little line, breathing in the captivating scent of strawberries and vanilla emanating from her skin.

Her eyes turned back to his own, her breath catching in her throat at how close she had unconsciously come to him. Slowly, almost reluctantly, her hands dropped from his helmet, the skin of her arms missing the feeling of his hot breath falling upon them, from when they were so close to his face. She took a calming breath, trying to change the subject. "How do you like my home?"

As if suddenly snapping out of a dream, Loki had to blink once, to regain his composure. "I find this realm very different from many others, full of unity and, I dare to say, euphoria. I must confess, I have never witnessed people being so close to each other, full of understanding and hospitality. There is an air of equality around the realm, giving away the impression that servants and royals, men from all the social places, are equal. In general, your realm is quite new, therefore peculiar, to my eyes."

She gave a small smile, pleased to see that he was intrigued by her home. "Wait until you attend to the feast in a short while. I am sure you won't be able to compare it with Odin's celebrations."

Loki forced a tight smile to appear on his face at the mention of his father's name. The last thing he wanted at that moment was for the conversation to turn on him. He turned to admire the view from the balcony, avoiding further conversation.

Eira bit her lower lip in thought and nervousness, missing the sideways glance the prince gave her. "Tell me why you were imprisoned. What did you do to deserve a cell for yourself?"

He turned fully to her, raising an eyebrow. "I think we've been through this already."

She shook her head softly, almost compassionately. "No. I want to know in detail. Every single part of your plans, every reason, and emotion that drove you to do what you did. So I will be able to finally understand you."

He wanted to protest, tell her that it was not and shouldn't be her business. But, at the same time, now that he knew that he was given a chance to explain his actions, he felt the need to let it all out. To free himself from the weight he was carrying on his shoulders all this time. She would most likely hate him afterward, but he couldn't back off now. Plus, she was as stubborn as he was, so either way, she was going to learn. So, with a final deep breath, he told her everything.

* * *

 **The original song is called 'God help the outcasts' from the Disney movie called 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'. The link for Eira's outfit is in my profile, in my DeviantArt account.**


	18. The Feast

" I understand."

"What?" Loki slowly turned his head to look at her from his position, leaning against the rail of the balcony, a look of confusion and surprise decorating his features. He had half expected her to back away from him in horror or disgust, maybe call him a monster. But the calm, collected reaction he was now receiving from her, he was both curious and astonished to see. During his speech the only times he had actually looked at her were some glances here and there, stopping to see her reactions. He was more than pleased to see that she had been listening to him in concentration, never showing anything more than interest. He was now daring to hope that she could actually accept his actions without judging him like all the other people in his life, apart from his mother of course, but really that was too much to ask.

Eira glanced one last time at the view from her balcony, before turning fully to face him. "I understand. Why you did all those things, why the jealousy, the rage, the disappointment, the attack on both Midgard and Johtunheim."

He frowned in confusion at the last part. "Well, yes. I wanted what was rightfully mine."

She smiled softly, shaking her head. "No. It was more than that. You were raised with the chance that you were born to be a king. And you were taught to hate a race of 'monsters'. Living in the shade of your brother, you desired to shine in your father's eyes, make him proud of you. This desire grew along with you. You despised Thor because Odin was only proud of him. When Thor was announced to be coronated, you felt αδικημένος and decided to act.

Learning by accident that you are a Frost Giant, the son of the king of a race Odin had taught you to hate, killed you inside. Made you think yourself a monster. And made you determined to prove yourself better than Thor and Laufey. You thought that killing Thor and Johtunheim would lift you in your father's eyes. And when it didn't, you wanted to die. That's why you let go.

Meeting the Chitauri gave you the chance to become a king. Both your fathers were kings, so you felt like you had and deserved to become one as well. And that desire, with a bit of mind control from Thanos and the pressure of the Other, blinded you. You couldn't control yourself completely. And when you realized what you were doing, it was too late. Now you are here, broken, hurt, angry. You still blame your brother and Odin for everything, but the confusion lingers in your mind like clouds before a storm. Have I said anything incorrect?"

Loki could only stare at her in silence. He couldn't bring himself to tell her that she was right, his proud wouldn't allow him to. Part of him knew that she was correct to most of the things she had pointed out to him, but another part of him hadn't even realized the deepest reasons of his actions. He had always thought that what he did was for himself to feel some kind of slight satisfaction. But he had never thought that everything was either for his father, or for the others to accept him for who he is. How she was able to analyze in such detail, thoughts and feelings he had been experiencing through all this time, by just hearing his story? The most peculiar, unbelievable thing was other though. It was the fact that looking into her eyes, the only reaction he could find was empathy.

She slowly turned her back on him, walking inside her room. He followed right behind, mostly because he didn't know what to do. He was too shocked. Only one question managed to reach his mind. " And what do you think now?"

Eira's shoulders fell, her gaze fell to the floor. She didn't know what to do. If she was sincere with him, he might turn his back to her, consider her like all the others. And, truth be told, she didn't want him to turn away from her. She didn't want to lose his company after what they've been through the past few days. Turning back to him, she took a moment to admire once more the glory of his figure in the enormous armor.

"Sincerely, the things you've done are αποκρουστικό, unimaginable. Filled with hunger for power, vengeance and rage, destroying everything and everyone who stood in your way." She was slowly approaching him, like a predator nearing its victim. She was now standing in front of him, staring into his eyes. Her expression softening immediately. "But seeing the broken man behind the mask of anger, with all his sorrows and scars from his life, I can't help but look at you with sympathy, understanding and feel the urge to help you, to stand by your side till you have proven everyone who believe you a monster wrong."

Loki's breath was coming in tiny clouds, heart racing faster than ever, his eyes boring into her very soul. They stood there, staring at each other, as if the time had stopped, as if the world around them had vanished. She hesitantly raised her arms, moving closer. The next moment, she had wrapped her arms around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen and she relaxed her body to release some of the tension. She turned her head to whisper in his ear. "I don't believe you are a monster. I never did, never will."

She felt his body relax and a pair of long strong arms wrapping around her waist. He buried his face in her hair, her sweet scent filling his nostrils. Jasmine and vanilla. How could he have missed this scent for so long?

The rise and fall of her chest was giving him a feeling that was more than calmness or protection. It was something that he couldn't place it. The feeling of her curvy breasts was sending a warm tingle in the pit of his stomach, and he felt unwilling to pull away. " I find myself surprised to see that you, as well, believe yourself to be a monster."

His eyes widened slightly, his breath freezing in his throat. Her mouth was right beside his ear, he could feel her hot breath falling on his neck. She whispered in his ear like a hypnotizing melody. " You are many things Loki…..but a monster…..is not one of those."

He didn't believe her. Completely, that is. A part of him was relieved that she didn't see him like everybody else did. But, another part of him knew, that he was and had become, a monster. They slowly pulled back from their embrace, Eira offering a small smile that seemed to make her eyes sparkle.

"Come on. I want to visit someone before we make our way to the feast." Loki nodded, and they both started walking down the long corridors in silence. It wasn't an awkward one, more like the opposite. Loki found himself glancing constantly her way, trying to comprehend how could she act so collected and kind to him. The people who had ever treated him that way could be counted in his hand, and now, after what he had done, those few people were even lesser.

He had told her, back in their cell, that he regretted nothing of what he had done. It had flew out of his mouth, almost without his will. But, from the moment he stepped foot on this realm, from the moment he had started reviving his monstrous actions, he had felt regret for ever doing them. Regret, sorrow for the people, the innocent people he had killed. Regret for disappointing his mother. And brother.

He couldn't understand why. From the moment he had discovered his true parentage, he had put the blame on both Odin and Thor. They were both responsible for what he had been through during his childhood and later. So, why he was regretful for disappointing Thor, all of a sudden?

 _You don't feel regret for that oaf!_

A sharp pain shot through his head, causing him to wince. Thankfully, Eira didn't notice. The voice was his own and at the same time it wasn't. It had a dark aura, it was spreading all over his mind and he felt like someone was crashing his brain in their hands. His breath caught in his throat. He had felt this sensation before. He had heard this voice before.

 _You regret nothing. They all deserved to be ruled, or die if they denied. They are all weak and worthless. Your so called family betrayed you, everybody despise you. You are a monster, you always were and always will be._

 ** _No…._**

 _No one cares about you. You will be better dead._

 ** _No, there are still-_**

 _No one will be there for you. You failed him. And you will pay. You will learn how real pain feels like. You and everyone you ever cared for._

"Here we are." Loki snapped out of his thoughts, sweat running from his forehead. He found himself and Eira standing in front of a room. He suck in a calming breath, as Eira pushed the doors open.

Inside the room stood a woman, around her fifties, attending to a small body in a bed. All around the room were vials and books, as well as tools of medicine. It was a healing room. They neared the lady, Eira giving her a small dismissing nod. Loki took a look at the body, his stomach twisting at the sight.

It was the lifeless body of Calder.

Eira stroke his colorless cheek softly, glancing at the long stitches around his now closed wound on the stomach. The healer had done a good job. Her attention turned to his peaceful face, her fingers carefully caressing every detail on his face, like he would break under her touch. She didn't notice her hands trembling. "I wish we had more time. Wish I had seen him growing up…."

Loki placed his cool hand on her shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. There were no words he could say to ease her pain. So he offered a most welcomed silence. After a while, he felt her shoulders relax. "His funeral will take place in a week. You are welcome to attend to it, if you wish."

She turned to look at him. He looked straight in her eyes, finding hope. She was hoping that he would be there. For company maybe? He nodded, a small smile appearing on his face, trying to lighten her mood. It worked.

She smiled back, leading him out of the room and out of the palace towards the center of the town. "Ready to meet the Baldrians?"

He caught a teasing tone in her voice. "I am more concerned about them meeting me."

She chuckled, nudging his arm playfully. A side of her he had yet to see, the mischievous one. "There will be no problem with that, believe me."

As they neared the place of the feast, he saw women dressed in revealing dresses like Eira carrying plates with food and wine, men taking care of the big fire in the middle and the big pillows on the stone floor. " You might be right."

She smirked. "From the moment I turned 18, I am always right."

He cocked an eyebrow, as they seated themselves on a pair of pillows next to each other. "Oh, are you?"

"Yes."

He looked in front of him, at the red flames of the fire."You were wrong when you said I am just like Odin…"

She looked at his face, catching the meaning behind his words. " Indeed." He turned to her, her whispered tone catching his attention. She smiled warmly. "You are much better than him."

Even though he still did not believe her, he felt himself relax remarkably. "I highly doubt that."

She shrugged, her lips curling upwards. "I don't."

A small grin crawled up to his face. As the people took their seats all around the fire, women wandered around, placing trays with wine and food in every two pillows, before they took their seats as well. A group of men were in a far corner, preparing their instruments.

Eira swiftly stood up and went in front of the fire, facing her people. " People of Baldr! My home! I am very happy to be here with you today, after such a long time, feasting with you like we used to do every night!" The crowd cheered and clapped. When they ceased, she raised her hands in the air, a bright smile on her face. " Let the feast begin!"

The crowd cheered once again, as the instruments started playing a lively music. People were heading towards the fire, in couples or alone and danced their hearts out, while Eira returned to Loki's side, holding up a glass of red wine for him.

He gladly accepted and they exchanged smiles as their glasses clink. Men and women were singing in turns, children dancing and giggling around their feet. The remain seated crowd was clapping in rhythm with the music.

Loki had never seen this kind of dance before. It wasn't elegant like Asgard's, neither too scandalous. It was like coming from the depths of the heart, it was free. They were free to dance as they felt. And it looked very nice.

He soon found himself joining Eira and the others in clapping, a wide smile plastered on his face. It was one of the few times he was actually enjoying himself. Two men, known among the realm for their funny songs arose and pulled Eira to her feet, while they started singing a song about normal persons like themselves, pretending to be gods.

Eira took off her hairband and placed it on the head of a small girl so she would not drop it while dancing, causing the girl to gasp, then giggle and touch it in admiration. Eira started moving around, swaying her hips to the rhythm, arms and legs creating graceful movements.

Loki gulped at the sight. His eyes followed the way her hips moved, travelling up her body to her smiling face. He could stare at her forever. The image was, oh so very tempting. He felt his fingers twitch at the thought of holding those swinging hips, feeling her perfectly curved body against his own, dancing together.

His attention was caught by a couple of boys at his right, who were staring at his helmet in awe. A small smirk appeared on his lips, and without much thought, he took off his helmet and placed it on one of the boy's head. " I want it back when the feast is over."

The boy smiled widely, trying to steady the much bigger helmet on his head. " Wow, cool! Thank you prince Loki!" Then he turned to his friends, showing them the helmet.

Eira watched the scene as she danced, her smile widening. When the song ended, she went to stand in front of him, always smiling. "My friends! Today, we are celebrating for this man here, who has given us the honor to be with us."

Loki's face dropped into a frown, a glint of sorrow in his eyes. He didn't felt like he deserved all this. He had killed so many, he had lied and betrayed. He had caused war. He was a Frost Giant. " No Eira. I have done nothing to celebrate for."

Her look turned into a frown of pity, then to determination. Determination to show him, he was wrong. " First, you offer me sympathy when I had the nightmares, then you stand up for me during my torture. And you say you did nothing? I believe, you have convinced yourself to believe what others say. That you are a monster. But, who you truly are, you must see from another way."

And then, music started playing again, only now Eira was the one singing, while smiling at him.

 **A single thread in a tapestry**

 **Though its color brightly shine.**

 **Can never see its purpose,**

 **in the pattern of the grand design.**

She showed him a nice built man and then a small boy beside him.

 **And the stone that sits on the very top,**

 **of the mountain's mighty face**

 **does it think it's more important**

 **from the stones that form the base?**

She slowly approached him, bending to his eye level.

 **So how can you see what your life is worth**

 **or where your value lies?**

 **You can never see through the eyes of man**

She gently grasped his chin in her hand, making him look at her.

 **You must look at your life, look at your life through heaven's eyes**

The next moment, she had let him go, moving to the center of the dance as the people around joined her in the song, dancing together. She was in the middle of them all, seeming like the diamond between the rubies. Loki couldn't help but clap in the rhythm.

Then she once again approached him.

 **A lake of gold in the desert sand, is less than a cool fresh spring**

 **and to one lost sheep, a shepherd boy is greater than the richest king.**

She put a tender hand on his shoulder.

 **If a man lose everything he owns, has he truly lost his worth?**

 **Or is it the beginning, of a new and brighter birth?**

She kept singing to him, while showing people around her that resembled her examples.

 **So how do you measure the worth of a man,**

 **in wealth or strength or size?**

 **In how much he gained**

Her hand slipped to his heart.

 **or how much he gave?**

 **The answer will come**

She looked at him with an expression of tenderness.

 **the answer will come to him who tries**

 **to look at his life through heaven's eyes**

She poked him playfully on the chest.

 **And that's why we share all we have with you.**

 **Though there's little to be found**

 **When all you've got is nothing**

 **there's a lot to go around**

She took a few steps backwards to sway her body like the flames of the fire.

 **No life can escape being blown about**

 **by the winds of change and chance,**

 **and though you never know all the steps,**

 **you must learn to join the dance**

She reached to take his hands in her and started to pull him up with her. His eyes went wide when he realized what she intended to do and started shaking his head, murmuring countless 'no' to her, but she was having none of that. She moved her legs to the music, making him follow her awkwardly.

 **You must learn to join the dance!**

In a few moments, his nervousness vanished when he saw her smile at him like this. In absolute happiness. She joined their open palms together, his right hand with her left and they slowly moved around each other in a slow dance. That was until she grasped his hand tightly and used it to spin around herself, ending up wrapped in his arm and her back on his chest. Then out of his embrace and back in again. Loki cooperated without second thoughts.

As the music sped up, they had joined their hands together again and they were dancing with their feet flying joyfully on the ground. She stopped close to him to finish the song, pleased to see that a smile was plastered on Loki's face, a smile that couldn't be whipped out by anyone anymore.

 **So how do you judge what a man is worth?**

 **By what he builds or buys?**

 **You can never see with your eyes on earth**

 **look through heaven's eyes**

 **Look at your life, look at your life**

 **Look at your life through heaven's**

 **Eyes**

He grabbed her waist when she was pulling the last note, making her dance with him faster than before, until the song ended and he lifted high above his head, the way a ballet dancer would do with his partner.

* * *

"Come on!" Loki struggled to keep in pace with a certain laughing queen, as she guided him to her so called 'special place' in the palace garden. The constantly full moon of Baldr, in combination with the sparkling stars was throwing its light on them, illuminating the darkness of the night.

They reached a small pool with crystal waters and flowers all around. The ground around it that touched the water was shining like some kind of magic dust. Occasionaly, a fish would splash playfully at the surface. Eira seated herself close to the pool, making space fir Loki to sit beside her.

For a while they were in complete silence, just enjoying being there with someone else apart from themselves. Loki glanced at her face from the corner of his eye. She had turned her attention to the sky, allowing the moonlight to fall fully across her face, making her features more enchanting than ever."Do you know the stars? The shapes they make with each other?"

He frowned in confusion. "You mean the constellations?"

Her eyes never left the sky. " Yes, this is their name. I always wanted to learn what they looked like or why they had those peculiar names. I have read about them, but nobody ever had the time to show them to me."

Her tone was not one of complaint, Loki noted, it was one of melancholy. "Since you've read about them, haven't you also learned them?"

"I had always a small problem with mentally joining the stars to see the constellations"

She was met with silence after that. Then some raffling. And then an open hand was offered in front of her. She looked at it and then at its owner, a look of slight surprise and confusion on her face. " Loki, what..."

A small grin decorated his face. "You'll see, if you decide to take it."

Eira glanced back at his hand for a moment, contemplating her next move. Ever so slowly, she placed her hand in his offered one, allowing him to pull her up. They stood face to face with each other, his hand not leaving hers. Instead, he placed her other hand on his shoulder, linking their fingers together. Lastly, his free hand came to rest on the curve of her waist, fighting the urge to feel its length with his fingertips. "What are you doing?"

He brought her closer to him, their chests inches from touching. His face reached closer to her own, his eyes locked on hers as he whispered in a way that made her lugs to take a deep breath. "Showing you the stars."

She didn't question any further. Slowly, he started to move his feet to an imaginable music, dragging Eira to do the same. They were dancing, a kind of waltz she had never experienced before. Her emotions overtook her senses, and a few moments later, she had created the music they were dancing to. She let him guide her.

When nervousness crept towards her, she moved her gaze from his eyes, trying to look at her feet and learn to follow his steps. She never got the chance though. "Don't Eira." Her eyes snapped back at his, startled even though it had been a whisper. "Don't hide your enchanting eyes from me."

He didn't sound like commanding. It was almost in a pleading way, like he was hesitant to know her response. He had been denied a lot of things in his life, to be surprised if the answer was negative.

"You don't have to try to be flirtatious to have my attention."

His linked fingers twitched visibly in the hold. " I am not trying."

This was one of the few moments in her life that she was incapable of words. She didn't know what to say to that. Instead of allowing herself to blush, she locked her honey eyes to his emerald ones.

They danced around the garden, moving in perfect harmony. His fingers would slightly tighten and relax against her waist, his breath falling warm on her face. Unknown to her, each step either of them would take, a green light would appear on the spot they had stepped on, lighting up a forming path.

She bite her tongue, knowing she was going to ruin the moment, but she just couldn't hold back her curiosity. " Why do you claim to hate your brother so much?"

For a moment, Loki's movements slowed down, the muscle on the shoulder she was holding stiffened and she was sure that he was going to pull away. What she didn't expect, was for him to return to what he was doing after a moment, looking perfectly fine.

He was pretending.

"I believe we've been through this before. He was always the shadow that covered me from my father's eyes, making me look the useless son Odin never wanted."

"But it wasn't his fault." His gaze turned more intense than ever, daring her to complete her thought. "Nor it was yours, adopted or not, your mother loved you for who you really are. If indeed your brother overshadowed you, haven't you wondered why it only succeeded with your father?"

Whatever Loki was ready to say, it just died in his throat. It was one of the rarest times in his life that he had nothing to say back. "You have chosen a very unsuitable moment to make such conversations."

She kept back a sigh. "Stop trying to avoid it and just think about it."

He was reluctant, but he did anyway. Yes, he had hated Thor during his time in Midgard and after that. But something wasn't right. When he tried to recall his childhood, he did remember the sorrow he felt each time Odin smiled at Thor more than with him, but never, even once, did he feel hatred towards his brother. Even after Thor's banishment, he had only felt sadness for his brother's punishment.

He almost stumbled back when he tried to remember the rest, causing Eira to tighten her grip on his hand and shoulder. Loki was lost. He couldn't remember anything, from the Odinsleep to Thor's return to Asgard, it was all a blank space. Like his mind had stopped at some point and then turned back on by itself.

And during his fight with Thor in the Bifrost. He remembered that he was angry, but couldn't remember why. There was the same blank space in his memory again. What he could remember though, was that it hadn't only been anger, he had felt. It was also love. He loved his brother, he still did. Whether he would admit it or not.

"What are you trying to prove, lady Ecmosdottir?" the question was anything but genuine. He knew she was right, he knew he must have been wrong back then. But he was either unwilling, or afraid to admit it.

"The truth Loki. I am trying to prove to you that you were wrong about one thing. Thor never tried to make you look unworthy, he never tried to overshadow you. This is not what brothers do. He loves you. But the fact that Odin loved his blood-related son more than his adopted one, made you think that it was because of Thor, that you weren't given the needed affection by him. What you are still not able to see is that it is Odin's fault and only his, that you ended up killing so many innocents and be locked in a cell under your own home for that."

A few moments passed before a small smile appeared on Loki's lips. The hand holding hers lowered to his side, causing the queen to finally realize that they had stopped dancing. "You never cease to surprise me. It makes me wonder, will you have even the slightest reaction at my gift?"

At the mention of a gift, Eira titled her head to the side, questioning him. When he looked to the ground and then back at her with a smirk, her eyes followed his previous movement. A gasp escaped her lips, instinctively taking a step backward. The ground of the garden was full of spots of green light that joined each other with thin rays of the same light between them. Taking a few steps back to examine them better, she realized that they were shapes of animals and strange symbols, each spot had been a step either of them had taken while dancing. "It's beautiful."

"These are the constellations you were trying to make out in the sky." Loki came beside her once more, moving his hand to each shape as he explained. "This one is Lupus, the Pisces, Gemini, that one is Leo and the..."

When he turned his gaze to make sure that she was listening to him, he was met with one of the warmest smiles he had ever seen. Her eyes were sparkling with the star's reflection on them, making them even more enchanting, like she had jumped right out of a fairytale.

"It's remarkable..." she murmured, shaking her head at him. "You talk and act so much like Odin...and yet, you're so much unlike him, all at the same time."

She started walking slowly towards him, never averting her eyes from his face. He, in return, didn't look like he could stop listening with his full attention on her. "You tried to do great things, by making the wrong choices. During my years, I've come to realize something that most people among the Nine Realms don't. A villain was never born that way, their life led them to make the wrong moves. You have managed to make yourself the villain in this, Loki."

She stood in front of him, raising her hand to softly press against his chest. Her hand moved with his chest as he took in a breath. "What I want to know though, is why you're trying to convince yourself that you hate your family, that you are a murderer, that you are a cruel ruler...Why are you trying to convince yourself that you are what they say? A villain. Why won't you trust me?"

She looked into his green eyes, trying to figure out what pain he had lived through. What she saw was indeed pain. But there was also loss, love that was never returned, sorrow and desperation. A silent cry for something she couldn't understand. They stayed like this for what felt like a very long time. She had the hope that he would say something to her, anything.

He never did.

She sighed, dropping her hand back to her side. Her reaction made a stabbing pain spread across a certain part of his chest, causing him to gulp. She gave a small forced smile, pushing a loose curl behind her ear. She turned her back to him, not daring to look back as she walked towards the palace. "Goodnight Loki."

It was after she had disappeared inside the palace that he found the will to whisper the answer to her question. "Because my trust is always followed by pain. I'm trapped and I can't be saved."

* * *

 **Sorry that took so long to write!**


End file.
